Eric Adams, like the Jan. 6 defendants, sees fortunes turn on Trump actions
There's a new sheriff in town, and he lives in Mar-a-Lago. That's something New York Mayor Eric Adams figured out, to his benefit.
WASHINGTON − There's a new sheriff in town, and he lives in Mar-a-Lago.
The Justice Department's directive to drop the criminal prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams is one more example that relationships, allegiances and vendettas are in some cases determining who gets targeted − and who gets reprieved − in the age of Donald Trump.
The new president has abruptly upended efforts since the Watergate scandal four decades ago, some more successful than others, to insulate the justice system from the political interference of one president or another. Instead, with Trump, justice is avowedly personal.
The first evidence of that came just hours after his inauguration last month when he issued sweeping pardons and commutations to almost every defendant charged in connection with the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, a melee that was intended to disrupt the electoral vote count of Joe Biden's victory over him. Trump's pardons included those convicted of attacking police officers, sometimes causing grievous injuries.
In its opening weeks, the administration also has removed dozens of officials at the Justice Department and the FBI, targeting those who worked on investigations of Trump and of the Jan. 6 defendants.
Adams may be the next example, but he seems unlikely to be the last defendant to recognize the new possibilities.
"I thank the Justice Department for its honesty," Adams said in a statement at City Hall. "Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city. It's time to move forward."
The Democratic mayor of the nation's largest city − where Kamala Harris trounced Trump by more than 2-1 in the November election − had since his indictment in September become increasingly friendly with Trump. In what critics called a campaign for leniency, Adams traveled to Mar-a-Lago last month to meet with the president-elect, attended his inauguration in Washington and declared that he wouldn't publicly criticize him, even on immigration policies that are fiercely opposed by many of his own constituents.
Trump and Adams, united in claims of persecution
The mayor has complained he is the victim of politically motivated prosecutors because he had criticized then-President Joe Biden's immigration policies. That's an argument that has particular resonance for Trump, who has long blamed political foes for his own legal troubles in federal and state courts.
"I know what it's like to be persecuted by the DOJ (Department of Justice) for speaking out against open borders," Trump said at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York in October, which Adams also attended. "We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric."
On Monday, the Justice Department told federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York that they were "directed to dismiss" corruption charges against Adams immediately.
The letter from Emil Bove, the department's acting No. 2 official, cited political reasons, not legal ones, specifically noting that the department hadn't assessed the strength of the evidence or the legal reasoning behind the prosecution. Instead, it said the case was interfering with the mayor's ability to cooperate with Trump's immigration crackdown. It also suggested the indictment might unfairly interfere with the mayoral primary in June.
"The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams' ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime," Bove wrote. Now acting deputy attorney general, he was previously a member of Trump's legal team fighting charges of obstructing the election, mishandling sensitive government documents and falsifying business records.
Adams was charged with corruption going back more than a decade, to the days when he was Brooklyn borough president. The indictment accused him of accepting lavish travel perks from Turkish officials and illegal campaign contributions from foreigners in exchange for taking actions to benefit Turkey. They included pressuring the New York Fire Department to accelerate approval of a new Turkish consulate.
The uproar in legal circles over Adams' case may be overshadowed by rising alarms about a potential constitutional crisis on another front.
In recent days, Trump and Vice President JD Vance have suggested that the new administration may upend a fundamental legal precept: that the White House is obliged to obey the rulings of federal courts. Legal scholars warn that a refusal to comply would test the nation's core checks and balances, a system in which the powers of the president, Congress and the courts are designed to prevent any one branch of government from exercising unlimited authority.
In just over three weeks in office, Trump has moved more quickly and decisively than any modern-day president to expand the powers of his office, from freezing billions in spending to embracing territorial expansion in Canada, Greenland, Panama and Gaza.
And, now, in rewriting some assumptions about how the judicial system works.
Adams' legal reprieve doesn't necessarily rescue him from his political perils.
More than a half-dozen credible candidates already have entered the contest for the Democratic nomination for mayor in November's election, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is considered another possible contender. The Justice Department's action would save Adams from the potential damage of a public trial, but his alliance with Trump could cost him support among progressive and Black voters.
The Justice Department's dismissal also doesn't necessarily end his legal troubles once and for all. He would be required to sign an agreement that the charges could be filed again down the road.
When, perhaps, someone else will be president.