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NEW York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case has been tossed out after President Donald Trump intervened in the historic scandal.
A federal judge dismissed the criminal case against Adams on Wednesday and blocked the Department of Justice from bringing the same charges against him again.
The controversial decision by Manhattan federal court Judge Dale Ho followed several turbulent months sparked by Trump’s Department of Justice ordering prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against the mayor.
“Ultimately, because the decision to discontinue a prosecution belongs primarily to a political branch of government, it is the public’s judgment, and not this Court’s, that truly matters,” Ho wrote in the 78-page decision.
The case was dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning Ho denied the DOJ’s request to toss the case without prejudice, which would have allowed prosecutors to refile the five-count indictment against Adams in the future.
Ho said dismissing the case without prejudice would “would create the unavoidable perception that the mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration.
Trump’s move to clear Adams’ charges prompted accusations that the mayor, who campaigned as a Democrat, worked with Trump in a “quid pro quo” in exchange for cracking down on immigration in New York City.
A defiant Adams fiercely resisted calls to resign for six months after several top Democrats called the allegations against the former mayor concerning and urged him to step down.
Governor Kathy Hochul even said she was considering removing the mayor from his position, but eventually decided to keep him.
Now, Adams will be allowed to campaign for a second term without the threat of jail time.
The Department of Justice indicted Adams in September on bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses.
The homes of Adams, several of his top administration aides, as well as former high-ranking officials in the New York City Police Department, were raided by the FBI as part of its federal investigation.
Federal prosecutors accused Adams of taking bribes and soliciting illegal campaign contributions from foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official.
Adams claimed the charges against him were brought because he criticized former President Joe Biden on his handling of the migrant crisis in New York City.
After the indictment, Adams seemingly turned his back on his fellow Democratic constituents and has embraced President Donald Trump and his administration.
And in an unprecedented move in February, the Trump DOJ ordered the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to drop the case in return for Adams’ help addressing Trump’s immigration goals.
Sassoon, a career conservative Republican appointed by Trump in January, resigned instead of dropping the case.

