Federal District Judge Dale Ho dismissed the charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday, weeks after the Department of Justice said that it would drop the charges.
The agreement from the DOJ set off a firestorm inside the department, with several resignations because staff disagreed with the decision to drop the charges. It also led to resignations within City Hall. Then-Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon alleged in a resignation letter that the charges were being dropped against Adams due to a quid pro quo. She said in her letter that dropping the charges was in exchange for his cooperation on Trump's mass deportation project.
NBC reporter Ken Delanian noted that the judge called out what some observers saw as a corrupt bargain.
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"DOJ's immigration enforcement rationale is both unprecedented and breathtaking in its sweep," he wrote.
Ho dismissed the charges with prejudice, meaning the case can never be brought again.
"Dismissing the case without prejudice" as the DoJ asked the judge to do, "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."
Legal experts explained why the move was a hit for President Donald Trump's administration.
"This is a magnum opus," said legal reporter Cristian Farias about the dismissal with prejudice. He noted it was "written to 'shine a light' on the government’s own self-damning conduct."
Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law, agreed. He said that it denies "the Trump administration leverage over Adams—and has harsh words for DOJ's corrupt bargain, which is 'fundamentally incompatible with the basic promise of equal justice under law.'"
"There are so many examples of corruption. The Trump administration corruptly intervened to end the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. The case was dismissed 'with prejudice', so Trump’s DOJ can’t hold it over him. But still pretty corrupt," wrote Tom Joscelyn, the senior fellow at Just Security.
The Nation's Elie Mystal explained, "Always the most likely outcome of this corrupt deal."