A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams after the Department of Justice (DOJ) decided not to prosecute the case.
Judge Dale Ho in the Southern District of New York granted the DOJ’s request to dismiss the case, but did so with prejudice. This means the Justice Department will not be able to bring the indictment against Adams again.
The DOJ’s original motion was to dismiss Adams’ case without prejudice, which meant the agency would have been able to charge the mayor in the future if they decided to reverse course. However, Judge Ho decided against this in his ruling, noting that another indictment “would interfere with the Mayor’s ability to govern, thereby threatening ‘federal immigration initiatives and policies.’”
The judge actually helped Eric Adams with this ruling. He should be thankful the WH can no longer dangle this case over his big head. Should be a sign for him to walk away from politics but his ego is too damn big. pic.twitter.com/DvKk2Kvjge
— Candidly Tiff (@tify330) April 2, 2025
The judge explained that dismissing the case with prejudice would avoid the perception that the Trump administration would use the threat of a renewed indictment to leverage Adams into complying with its desires regarding immigration enforcement.
In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents. That appearance is inevitable, and it counsels in favor of dismissal with prejudice.
Judge Ho rejected the DOJ’s assertion that the original indictment, brought under the Biden administration, was aimed at punishing Adams for criticizing the former president’s approach to immigration.
DOJ’s assertion that this case—which was brought nine months before the 2025 New York City mayoral primary election—somehow amounts to election interference lacks any support in Justice Department guidelines or past practice.
Ho further stated, “Ultimately, DOJ does not point to any objective criteria that would suggest an appearance of impropriety here.”
Adams was facing five criminal charges related to corruption and campaign finance violations. The DOJ alleged that he conspired with others to illegally obtain campaign funds from Turkey’s government, commit wire fraud, and take bribes in exchange for favors.
The Justice Department in February announced that it was dropping the charges against Adams.
The Justice Department has ordered the dismissal of charges against Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams, bringing an abrupt end to a legal challenge hanging over his administration. The decision follows a review of the case, with officials concluding that there was insufficient evidence to pursue the charges further. An official stated that the order is for all charges to be dismissed, and that the dismissal is without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled in the future.
On Monday, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a letter to the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, directing them to drop the federal case against Mayor Eric Adams and dismiss it without prejudice.
The move sparked controversy within the Justice Department. Several DOJ officials, including lead prosecutor Hagan Scotten, resigned in protest, saying he would not be the “fool” or “coward” to file the motion to dismiss.
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