Mayor Adams’ lawyer insists no ‘quid pro quo’ deal with Trump DOJ — as judge punts on whether to toss corruption charges
Embattled Mayor Eric Adams hasn’t worked out a secret “quid pro quo” with President Trump’s Department of Justice to kill his corruption case, his lawyer insisted Wednesday — as a Manhattan judge punted for now on whether to toss the charges.
Attorney Alex Spiro offered to swear under oath that Adams hasn’t worked out a bargain with the DOJ as part of a deal that would still allow the feds to re-indict him after November’s mayoral election.
“I’m happy to raise my right hand right now,” Spiro said during a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
Judge Dale Ho declined to rule immediately on the Trump’s DOJ’s bid to toss the bribery and wire fraud case — without considering the strength of the evidence — for “national security” reasons, including Adams’ help implementing Trump’s immigration agenda.
“It’s not in anyone’s interest for this to drag on, I understand that,” Ho said. “But to exercise my discretion properly, I’m not going to shoot from my hip on the bench.”
Adams, who flashed a thumbs-up to news cameras on his way in and out of the hearing, denied to the judge that he’d received any sort of “other agreement” with Trump’s DOJ, but said he wasn’t concerned about the possibility of the feds reviving the case.
“I have not committed a crime, and I don’t see them bringing it back. I’m not afraid of that,” he said in court.
The hearing came days after Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a stunning memo ordering the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office to drop Adams’ case.
But instead of obeying, then-acting office head Danielle Sassoon resigned in protest — and alleged that Adams and the Trump-appointed DOJ officials agreed to a “quid pro quo” in which the mayor conditioned his support for Trump’s immigration plans on his case being dropped.
The case’s lead prosecutor resigned as well, and blasted the government’s plan to leave open the possibility of reviving the prosecution later as a “dismissal-with-leverage” gambit that keeps Adams beholden to Trump.
Adams also attended Trump’s inauguration in January, and has broken with other Big Apple Democrats by not speaking out against the president in recent months.
The DOJ’s move to toss the case has led to Democrats calling for Adams to resign, or for Gov. Hochul to oust him over his alleged Trump ties. Hochul spent Tuesday meeting with “key leaders” at her Manhattan office to discuss possible next steps.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges that he took $123,000 in travel perk bribes and solicited illegal campaign donations from Turkish nationals in exchange for fast-tracking the opening of the Turkish consulate building in Manhattan despite safety concerns.