U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Ho ruled on Friday that he will not—for now—dismiss the federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed to drop its prosecution against Adams, which includes one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.
According to Judge Ho, the case, as it currently stands, will be adjourned until further notice. In the meantime, the District Court is appointing Paul Clement of Clement & Murphy PLLC—a noted conservative litigator—to challenge the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the charges. Another hearing on the matter has been scheduled for next month, where—should the government prevail—the case could still be dismissed. Notably, the Trump DOJ contends the prosecution could restrict Adams’s ability to perform his duties as mayor and assist in ongoing immigration enforcement actions.
Adams was indicted last September and faces allegations that he knowingly solicited campaign contributions from Turkish foreign nationals beginning in 2018 in the lead-up to his 2021 run for mayor. At the time, federal prosecutors alleged that Adams and his campaign conspired to hide the illegal contributions through straw donors and fake paper trails, concealing the criminal activity. In exchange for financial support from representatives of the Turkish government, Adams allegedly pressured officials in the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to approve Turkey’s consulate building in Manhattan, despite safety issues.
