The New York City Law Department will not represent Mayor Eric Adams or his administration in the lawsuit filed by the City Council over his executive order to allow federal immigration authorities to operate on Rikers Island, the city's largest jail complex.
"The New York City Law Department has advised that they will not be representing any party in this litigation, and the respondents are accordingly in the process of identifying outside counsel to represent them in this matter," Allison Stoddart, the mayor's chief counsel, wrote in an emailed letter to the Manhattan Supreme Court clerk on Tuesday evening, which was obtained by the New York Daily News.
Muriel Goode-Trufant, who heads the Law Department as the city's corporation counsel, said in a statement: "Due to the fact that the New York City Law Department has provided advice to both sides of City Hall on the scope of the city's sanctuary city laws, it has removed itself from representing either side of City Hall in this litigation."
The Daily News and Gothamist note that the city's law department typically represents the city and its elected officials, including the mayor, in legal matters such as lawsuits and generally does not represent the City Council when it files a lawsuit against the administration.
An attorney for the City Council, Jason Otaño, called the decision "historical" in a letter to the judge in response.
Otaño also asserted that the Law Department was unable to "stand behind the Mayor and the First Deputy Mayor's actions."
The mayor's press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said in a statement that the move was "not unreasonable," adding, "The Council is trying to make something out of nothing."
She also noted that the city will cover the cost of legal counsel to defend against the lawsuit.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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