The Justice Division moved Monday to dismiss the historic bribery case in opposition to Mayor Eric Adams — in a serious win for the chief of the Huge Apple personally and politically, The Submit has confirmed.
The brand new Division of Justice underneath President Donald Trump instructed the Southern District of New York to dismiss the case with out prejudice, which means fees could possibly be re-filed sooner or later, sources mentioned.
A rep for SDNY declined to remark.
The beautiful flip of occasions seems to sign the tip of the years-long legal probe into Adams’ 2021 mayoral marketing campaign that has hung over Hizzoner’s head throughout his scandal-plagued first time period in workplace.
Adams, who was indicted in September, was accused of accepting 1000’s of {dollars} in free or upgraded luxurious journey as bribes from international nationals in alternate for political favors, together with serving to fast-track the opening of the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan.
The dismissal movement comes after weeks of Adams making an attempt to get in Trump’s good graces by going out of his approach to not criticize the president and publicly align himself with new immigration insurance policies.
Adams additionally hurried all the way down to Trump’s inauguration on a middle-of-the-night invite hours earlier than the ceremony and flew to have lunch with the then-president-elect at certainly one of his golf golf equipment close to Mar-a-Lago.
As well as, his superstar lawyer Alex Spiro had been working by authorized again channels to seek out a way out of the case with both a pardon or dismissal.
On Jan. 31, the mayor’s protection staff met with a few of the highest members of the DOJ in Washington D.C.
Unencumbered by the looming potential jail time, Adams can now pivot to what nonetheless is predicted to be a bruising major with a slate of Dems trying to dethrone a seemingly susceptible incumbent mayor.
The bribery case, although, was simply one of many points that dragged down Adams’ ballot numbers to file lows — together with crime, the migrant disaster and a solid of cronies introduced into the admin by the mayor who’ve additionally discovered themselves in comparable authorized troubles.
Information of the investigation burst onto the scene in November 2023 when Adams’ prime fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, was raided by the feds forcing the mayor to abruptly return from Washington DC simply moments after touchdown.
Brokers additionally raided Brooklyn-based KSK Building and the houses of Rana Abbsova, a longtime Adams staffer, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airline govt and member of the mayoral transition staff.
Days later, the feds stopped Adams on the road and ordered him handy over all his digital gadgets, together with a cellphone that he “forgot” the password for and feds have been unable to entry.
On Sept. 26, then-US Legal professional Damian Williams’ Southern District of New York workplace unveiled the historic 57-page indictment in opposition to the mayor.
For months, the mayor’s high-profile lawyer Spiro has tried to persuade the Biden DOJ and the choose listening to the case to dismiss the case to no avail.
Adams’ protection staff lengthy anticipated a Trump administration to be extra amenable to their case, both by a presidential pardon or a dismissal movement from the very best ranges of the DOJ — regardless of the case beginning underneath Trump’s first time period in 2021.
Choose Dale Ho, who has heard the case in Manhattan federal courtroom, will nonetheless must log off on the dismissal, nevertheless, that seems to only be a formality with prosecutors saying they don’t have any intention of constant the case.
