The Justice Department on Wednesday will argue that the Biden administration weaponized the government to prosecute New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, according to a senior DOJ official.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho ordered the DOJ to appear in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday afternoon to explain its reasoning behind its motion last week to drop the case against Adams. Adams, who has faced corruption charges, was directed to file a written consent form for the DOJ’s motion to dismiss and appear before the court.
Ho ordered that the DOJ be prepared to address the “reasons for the Government’s motion” to dismiss.
The DOJ is expected to tell the judge that the case was dropped in part because of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at “ending the weaponization of the federal government.”
A senior DOJ official said during a Tuesday briefing that the case against Adams was “politically motivated” and “weak,” relying on “unprecedented legal theories.” The official compared the prosecution of Adams to the case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought against Trump.
“First, you had a years-long investigation where a target was picked before charges were decided,” the official said. “[Southern District New York’s Office] just decided that they were going to go after the mayor. Those efforts, just like the DA’s office, accelerated after a precipitating event.”
The official said that the precipitating event for the Trump prosecution was his comeback presidential campaign, while for Adams, it was criticism of the Biden administration in the fall of 2022.
On Friday, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the case against Adams, arguing that to continue to prosecute would violate Trump’s order against the weaponization of government by interfering with the upcoming 2025 mayoral elections.
The official said that reports of a quid pro quo between Adams and the Trump administration were “made up.” There had been speculation that the DOJ was dropping the case in return for Adams to cooperate with Trump’s immigration agenda.
The DOJ official said the decision was made over the issue of potential interference with the 2025 election and Adams’s ability to govern NYC.
The senior DOJ official added that there was an active internal investigation into “personnel at SDNY who were involved in insubordination and other politically motivated activities” related to the Adams case. This came after there was resistance to dropping the case from inside the office and publicized resignation letters over the directive.
“There is no room for that behavior here in President Trump’s executive branch and certainly not in this building,” the official said, describing the DOJ’s actions as a ”civics lesson for the deep state about implementing the agenda that the American people voted for.”
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[[{“value”:”
The Justice Department on Wednesday will argue that the Biden administration weaponized the government to prosecute New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, according to a senior DOJ official.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho ordered the DOJ to appear in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday afternoon to explain its reasoning behind its motion last week to drop the case against Adams. Adams, who has faced corruption charges, was directed to file a written consent form for the DOJ’s motion to dismiss and appear before the court.
Ho ordered that the DOJ be prepared to address the “reasons for the Government’s motion” to dismiss.
The DOJ is expected to tell the judge that the case was dropped in part because of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at “ending the weaponization of the federal government.”
A senior DOJ official said during a Tuesday briefing that the case against Adams was “politically motivated” and “weak,” relying on “unprecedented legal theories.” The official compared the prosecution of Adams to the case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought against Trump.
“First, you had a years-long investigation where a target was picked before charges were decided,” the official said. “[Southern District New York’s Office] just decided that they were going to go after the mayor. Those efforts, just like the DA’s office, accelerated after a precipitating event.”
The official said that the precipitating event for the Trump prosecution was his comeback presidential campaign, while for Adams, it was criticism of the Biden administration in the fall of 2022.
On Friday, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the case against Adams, arguing that to continue to prosecute would violate Trump’s order against the weaponization of government by interfering with the upcoming 2025 mayoral elections.
The official said that reports of a quid pro quo between Adams and the Trump administration were “made up.” There had been speculation that the DOJ was dropping the case in return for Adams to cooperate with Trump’s immigration agenda.
The DOJ official said the decision was made over the issue of potential interference with the 2025 election and Adams’s ability to govern NYC.
The senior DOJ official added that there was an active internal investigation into “personnel at SDNY who were involved in insubordination and other politically motivated activities” related to the Adams case. This came after there was resistance to dropping the case from inside the office and publicized resignation letters over the directive.
“There is no room for that behavior here in President Trump’s executive branch and certainly not in this building,” the official said, describing the DOJ’s actions as a ”civics lesson for the deep state about implementing the agenda that the American people voted for.”
“}]]
