A federal judge in New York judge on Friday said he would not immediately dismiss the corruption charges against Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as requested by the Trump Justice Department, and instead ordered an indefinite delay in the trial.
In a written ruling, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan said he would appoint an outside lawyer, Paul Clement of the law firm Clement & Murphy PLLC, to present arguments against the prosecutors' bid to dismiss to help him make a decision.
Justice Department officials in Washington asked Ho a week ago to dismiss the charges against Adams.
That came about after several prosecutors resigned rather than follow orders from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump and his former personal criminal defense lawyer, to seek dismissal of the case brought last year by prosecutors during Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration.
The Trump Justice Department argued that dismissal is needed so Adams can focus on helping Trump crack down on illegal immigration. The controversy has sparked a political crisis in the most populous U.S. city. Senior Democrats have said that dismissing the charges makes Adams beholden to Trump's administration.
Adams, 64, was charged last September with taking bribes and campaign donations from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him. Adams, running for re-election this year, has pleaded not guilty.
In a February 10 letter, Bove ordered Danielle Sassoon, the acting Manhattan U.S. attorney at the time, to seek dismissal, stating that the charges got in the way of the mayor's reelection bid and caused Adams to lose his security clearance, limiting his ability to work with federal authorities on public safety.
Bove said the decision to drop the charges had nothing to do with the case's merits.
Adams has asserted, without presenting evidence, that Biden's Justice Department brought the charges as retribution for his criticism of Biden's immigration policy. Adams has warmed to Trump in recent months, visiting him in Florida in January and later attending his inauguration.
Sassoon, who was considered a rising star in conservative legal circles, resigned rather than comply with Bove's order. Six other prosecutors followed.
In a February 12 to Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi opposing Bove's directive, Sassoon said the mayor's lawyers had proposed a "quid pro quo" in which the Adams would help enforce Trump's hardline immigration policies only if the charges were dropped. Trump has ramped up deportations since returning to office.
Lawyers for Adams have denied he traded support for Trump's policies for assistance from the administration on his criminal case.
At a February 19 court hearing in Manhattan federal court, Bove also denied there had been any quid pro quo. But he said the Justice Department had broad authority to determine when a prosecution was no longer in the public interest.
"I don't think it's correct that even if there was a quid pro quo there would be an issue with this motion," Bove said.
The tumult at the Justice Department prompted many Democratic New York politicians to call on Adams to resign.
Four of his deputies said Monday they plan to resign in the coming weeks. New York state Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said on Thursday she would not use her power to remove Adams, but proposed new oversight of the mayor's office.