MANHATTAN (CN) — The Department of Justice on Monday instructed federal prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, according to an agency memo.
“You are directed, as authorized by the attorney general, to dismiss the pending charges in United States v. Adams, as soon as practicable,” read the two-page memo from Emil Bove, the Justice Department’s acting No. 2 official and President Donald Trump’s former personal criminal attorney.
The memo comes amid what seems to be a budding friendship between Adams and President Donald Trump. After attending Trump’s inauguration in January, Adams vowed not to criticize the president or the federal government publicly. He also reportedly instructed his staff to do the same.
But the Monday memo from Bove doesn’t address that relationship. Instead, Bove asserts that the ongoing criminal probe into Adams has “improperly interfered” with his 2025 reelection campaign and his mayoral duties.
“The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior administration,” Bove wrote, adding that the Justice Department is “particularly concerned” with Adams’ ability to cooperate with federal deportation efforts.
Bove continued that the case will be reviewed by the confirmed U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York after the November 2025 mayoral election. Until then, Bove said, “there shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps.”
Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro told Courthouse News on Monday that the memo came with “good reason.”
“As I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent — and he would prevail. Today he has,” Spiro said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has reevaluated this case and determined it should not go forward. There is good reason for that. The facts of the case are clear: the mayor never used his official position for personal benefit. Nor did he have any role in violating campaign finance laws. Despite a lot of fanfare and sensational claims, ultimately there was no evidence presented that he broke any laws, ever. The witnesses that were promised never materialized. The additional charges that were threatened never came. Now, thankfully, the mayor and New York can put this unfortunate and misguided prosecution behind them.”
A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Federal prosecutors in September 2024 charged Adams, a first-term Democrat and former NYPD captain, on five counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, wire fraud, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, and bribery.
The 64-year-old is accused of accepting and concealing luxury perks and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish businessmen and a government official, who supposedly used the mayor to gain political influence in New York City. Prosecutors claim Adams pressed city regulators to expedite the approval of a 36-story Manhattan skyscraper housing the Turkish Consulate General in 2021 despite concerns about the tower’s fire safety systems.
In exchange, Adams received first-class tickets on Turkish Airlines — an international airline owned partly by the Turkish government — among other perks, according to the indictment.
Adams has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has suggested that the case against him is politically motivated. After news of the indictment broke, the mayor claimed that he was being targeted by then-President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice for speaking out against federal immigration policy under Biden, a fellow Democrat.
“Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics,” he said. “I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target — and a target I became.”
Bove referenced that argument in his Monday move to have prosecutors drop the case, writing that it “cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior administration’s immigration policies before charges were filed.”
Prosecutors have repeatedly smacked down Adams’ claims that the case was politically motivated, noting that the initial investigation into Adams’ campaign finances was launched prior to him taking office.
Several high-profile Democrats have called for Adams’ resignation, including U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler of New York’s 12th District, who said after the charges became public that Adams “has lost the ability to effectively lead the city of New York” and “must resign.”
Controversy and legal turmoil have swirled in City Hall under Adams. In September 2023, former city buildings commissioner Eric Ulrich was charged by Manhattan prosecutors for using his position to dole out favors, including access to the mayor, in exchange for money and other bribes.
In December 2024, Adams’ top mayoral adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted on suspicion of using her proximity to the mayor to trade influence for cash and perks for her son.
Adams also faces a sexual assault lawsuit in civil court from Lorna Beach-Mathura, a former transit cop who worked with Adams in the early 1990s. She claims that Adams demanded oral sex from her in a car after she asked him for job advice. When she refused, Beach-Mathura claims that Adams ejaculated on her leg — an accusation that Adams denies.