NYC mayor's lawyer says corruption case is 'over,' but charges remain in place for now

NEW YORK — A lawyer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed confidence Wednesday that the criminal case against the Democrat is over, even though the Justice Department official who ordered the charges dismissed left the door open to the case being brought back next fall.

''There is no looming threat. This case is over. It will not be brought back,'' the attorney, Alex Spiro, told reporters. ''Despite a lot of fanfare and sensational claims, ultimately there was no evidence that he broke any laws ever.''

But as Spiro touted what he described as total victory over a ''misguided prosecution,'' the reality of the Justice Department's move, outlined in a two-page memo sent Monday, is more complicated.

For now, the charges against Adams remain in place.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove in his memo directed the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, to dismiss the charges ''as soon as is practicable.'' A spokesperson for her office declined to comment. There have been no new filings in the case in the two days since the memo became public.

Bove wrote that the order to halt the case was made without ''assessing the strength of the evidence'' against Adams — but was instead intended to allow him to focus on executing the Trump administration's priorities around immigration and crime.

The potential dismissal of the charges was also contingent on Adams agreeing that the case could be reopened in November following the mayoral election, Bove wrote.

Those unusual terms have drawn skepticism from some Democrats, and fierce rebuke from the mayor's Democratic primary challengers, who contend that Adams has agreed to carry out Trump's hardline immigration agenda in exchange for his freedom.

Speaking to reporters in his office Wednesday, Spiro denied that Adams had made any such promise. But he acknowledged that immigration and other policy issues were discussed at a meeting between the mayor's legal team and Justice Department officials ahead of the directive to halt the case.

''The functioning of the government, and the mayor's ability to enforce national security issues, terrorism threats, immigration issues and everything else, of course it came up,'' Spiro said.

Adams had not signed any documents yet in connection with the possible dismissal, Spiro said.

While Spiro acknowledged that the charges, if dismissed under the terms outlined in the memo, could be refiled later. But he said any honest review of the evidence should lead prosecutors to conclude that the mayor had committed no crime.

Adams pleaded not guilty in September to charges that he accepted about $100,000 of free or deeply discounted international flights, hotel stays, meals and entertainment in return for illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and members of the Turkish business community.

Prosecutors also allege he personally directed campaign staffers to solicit donations from foreign nationals, which are banned under federal law. Those contributions were disguised in order to allow Adams to qualify for a city program providing a generous, publicly-funded match for small dollar donations.

His trial was scheduled to start in April.

The prosecutors in New York who brought the case had, until this week, indicated that they believed they had a strong case, and that the investigation had uncovered additional evidence of misconduct by Adams.

Their power to resist the Justice Department directive, though, is limited. The U.S. attorney general has the power to replace U.S. attorneys at will, meaning anyone who opposes directives from Washington could potentially be removed.