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The bribery charges against the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, ordered by the Department of Justice in case of corruption

The bribery charges against the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, ordered by the Department of Justice in case of corruption

New York (WABC) – The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, is expected to comment on Tuesday after the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to dismiss the bribery charges filed against him.

The directive of the DJ of the Interim Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove does not enter the merits of the case, instead suggests that it was partial, it hurt Adams’s re -election offer and impacted its ability to help the authorization of the Trump administration on illegal immigration . .

The directive requests that the case be dismissed without prejudice.

A spokesman for the United States prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

“As I said from the beginning, the mayor is innocent and he would prevail. Today he has done it,” said Mayor’s lawyer Alex Spiro, in a statement. “The Department of Justice has re -evaluated this case and has determined that it should not move on … now, fortunately, the mayor and New York can leave behind this unfortunate and wrong prosecution.”

Adams declared himself innocent of an accusation of five positions. That accused him of accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the persistent security concerns of inspectors.

It is scheduled to be tried by federal corruption charges as of April 21.

RELATED: More coverage of Eric Adams research

Despite the claim of the defense lawyer of the mayor’s innocence, the letter Obtained by ABC News Instructing SDNY to dismiss the charges, he said that the Department of Justice had not carried out any evaluation of the strength of evidence.

Instead, the letter criticizes the moment of when the charges were brought.

“First, the moment of the most recent positions and public actions of the former US prosecutor responsible for initiating the case have threatened the integrity of the procedures, even by increasing the prior advertising prior to the trial that risks impacting potential witnesses and the group of jury.

The decision to accuse Adams, according to the Department of Justice, was apparently politically motivated by the Biden Administration after the mayor spoke about administration’s immigration practices.

Bove continues to express its concern that the case could negatively affect Adams’s ability to help the repression of the Trump administration about illegal immigration, writing that “pending prosecution has excessively restricted the ability of the mayor of Adams to dedicate all attention and resources to illegal immigration and violent crime that intensified under the policies of the previous administration. “

“We are particularly concerned about the impact of the Prosecutor’s Office on the ability of Mayor Adams to support federal and continuous federal efforts to protect the US people from the disastrous effects of migration and illegal mass resettlement,” Bove said.

Any motion to dismiss the case must formally appear in the Court and reviewed by the judge.

The measure followed months of speculation that the Trump Department of Justice would take measures to end the criminal case against Adams.

After being accused in September, Adams changed his tone to Trump, occupying some in his own party for publicly praising the Republican and his hard line immigration agenda. The memorandum occurred hours after Adams ordered its senior officials not to publicly criticize Trump, including the president’s hard line immigration policies.

Trump had hinted at the possibility of forgiveness in December, telling journalists that the mayor had been “treated quite unjustly.” He had also stated, without offering evidence, that Adams was being persecuted for criticizing the policies of former President Joe Biden on immigration.

After Trump’s inauguration, Adams’s lawyers had approached the senior officials of the Department of Justice, asking them to intervene and leave the case.

Adams then flew to Florida to meet with Trump on January 17. Then, he said that the two men had not discussed their criminal case or the possibility of forgiveness, but implied that Trump’s agenda would be better for New York than former President Joe Biden’s.

In the letter, federal prosecutors received instructions to dismiss the case without prejudice. However, Bove wrote that the US lawyer will review the case after the elections as mayor of this year.

The news caused the anger of Adams opponents.

“(Adams) said he wanted his day in court, but instead he avoided that system using the privilege and power to which so few people have access. This is obscene and obvious: the White House does not want to lose its deputy in New York City, “said public lawyer Jumaane Williams.

“(ADAMS) instructed his senior officials who do not criticize Donald Trump. And now we know why,” he tweeted the backward of New York City Brad Lander.

“Donald Trump may think that this buys access to terrorize our communities, but New Yorkers always defend each other, regardless of how many corrupt narcissists try to harm our families,” said the senator of the New York State Jessica Ramos.

“The only New Yorker that breathes a relief sigh tonight is Eric Adams,” tweeted the former representative of the New York state Scott Stringer.

“This should indign all New Yorkers,” said state senator and candidate for mayor Zellnor Myrie.

Myrie, who is looking to challenge Adams, was in a public forum when the news was learned on Monday night that the Department of Justice is asking Manhattan’s interim federal prosecutor to leave his bribery case against the mayor.

“What New Yorkers were willing to sell to reduce these changes?” Myrie said.

The special agent from the FBI in charge Richard Frankel said the district does not have to withdraw the positions immediately.

“However, if they do not, I understand that the Department of Justice could rule out the current interim chief of the Southern District,” Frankel said.

And despite the probability that the case will be withdrawn now, Frankel said: “There is nothing in the letter that indicated that they had discussed this or that it was agreed that the charges will be fired. So it was a bit surprising that it is not blocked . below.”

Damien Williams, the former US prosecutor from Manhattan, resigned after Trump’s electoral victory. However, As recently as on January 6, prosecutors indicated that their investigation remained active, writing in judicial documents that continued “discovering additional criminal conduct from Adams.”

The US prosecutor for Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, will carry out the order to dismiss the case. She assumed her role in the day after Trump assumed the position. His role was intended to be temporary. In November, Trump nominated Jay Clayton, former president of the United States Stock Exchange and Securities Commission, to the position, an appointment that must be confirmed by the Senate.

Federal agents had also been investigating other Adams assistants. Before the mayor’s accusation, the federal authorities seized telephones from a police commissioner, school chancellor, multiple attached mayors and director of Asian affairs of the mayor. Each of those officials denied irregularly, but since then he has resigned.

In December, Adams main advisor and nearest confidant, Ingrid Lewis -Martin, was accused by a state prosecutor, Manhattan’s district prosecutor, for charges that she and her son accepted $ 100,000 in bribes related to construction projects of real estate.


Some information from ABC News and Associated Press

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