Former prosecutor: Decision to drop charges against Eric Adams 'bizarre'
Former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin questioned the Justice Department’s abrupt decision to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams (D).
“This is one of the most bizarre situations I have ever seen,” Toobin said during a Monday appearance on CNN’s “AC360.”
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo Monday to the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York directing him to dismiss the pending charges against Adams.
“[Bove] makes complaints that [Adams] was politically targeted, which there is absolutely no evidence of,” Toobin told Anderson Cooper.
“And the Justice Department, now under the new Trump administration, dismisses the case against him, but says, well, we don’t know whether he’s guilty or not, but we want him to fight crime. I mean, this is what happens in authoritarian countries.”
Adams faces counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national and bribery.
In the memo, Bove said the Justice Department reached this conclusion "without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based." Bove also ordered further investigative efforts suspended and Adams’s security clearances restored.
He added that, “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.”
“The rule of law is not applied equally. It’s only applied to how the leader wants it applied,” he said describing an authoritarian regime.
“And Eric Adams has ingratiated himself with the Trump administration. And now he gets his case dismissed… And that’s not how the legal system is supposed to work.”
The New York mayor has vowed to "work with" Trump and his new administration following a meeting with the president prior to his inauguration.
Topics
-
Eric Adams praises DOJ for dropping criminal charges
New York City Mayor Eric Adams applauded the decision by the Department of Justice to drop charges against him, including counts for bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. CBS News' ...CBS News - 1h -
DOJ orders charges against NYC mayor Eric Adams dropped
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is demanding that federal prosecutors drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The administration is not citing the merits of the ...NBC News - 7h -
DOJ orders charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams dismissed
The Department of Justice ordered the acting U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York to dismiss all charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. NBC News' Ken Dilanian explains the ...NBC News - 17h -
Justice Department tells prosecutors to drop NYC Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case
The Justice Department has ordered prosecutors to drop the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. CBS News' Anna Schecter reports.CBS News - 5h -
Justice Department orders charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams dismissed
Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a senior Justice Department official said ...NBC News - 16h -
DOJ tells prosecutors to drop case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
In September, Adams was indicted on five counts including bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.CBS News - 17h -
DOJ orders prosecutors to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams
A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official ordered federal prosecutors to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who had cozied up with President Trump in recent ...The Hill - 18h -
US justice department official seeks dismissal of charges against Eric Adams
Federal prosecutors ordered to drop charges against New York mayor, who has cultivated relationship with Trump. A top official at the US Department of Justice has ordered federal prosecutors to ...The Guardian - 18h -
Here Are the Charges Against Eric Adams
The indictment on corruption and fraud charges was the first against a sitting mayor in modern New York City history.The New York Times - 19h
More from The Hill
-
RFK Jr. is the health revolution America needs
President Trump's nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the right person to lead Health and Human Services to transform the health care system from disease-treatment to prevention.The Hill - 29m -
Eric Adams on DOJ dismissing charges: 'I know that I must continue to regain your trust.’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) vowed that he would work to regain his constituents’ trust after the Justice Department (DOJ) directed federal prosecutors to dismiss the corruption case against ...The Hill - 30m -
Could soda, beer prices rise amid aluminum tariffs?
One major company has already warned higher prices could be required in the face of the new tariffs.The Hill - 41m -
Teen sentenced to 48 months in prison in nationwide swatting spree
A California teenager was sentenced to 48 months in prison on Tuesday following a series of interstate threats to injure individuals across the country. Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, Calif., ...The Hill - 42m -
Judge adjusts ruling blocking Musk, DOGE from Treasury Department payment systems
A federal judge Tuesday clarified that a ruling preventing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems does not extend to ...The Hill - 42m
More in Politics
-
RFK Jr. is the health revolution America needs
President Trump's nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the right person to lead Health and Human Services to transform the health care system from disease-treatment to prevention.The Hill - 29m -
Eric Adams on DOJ dismissing charges: 'I know that I must continue to regain your trust.’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) vowed that he would work to regain his constituents’ trust after the Justice Department (DOJ) directed federal prosecutors to dismiss the corruption case against ...The Hill - 30m -
Could soda, beer prices rise amid aluminum tariffs?
One major company has already warned higher prices could be required in the face of the new tariffs.The Hill - 41m -
Teen sentenced to 48 months in prison in nationwide swatting spree
A California teenager was sentenced to 48 months in prison on Tuesday following a series of interstate threats to injure individuals across the country. Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, Calif., ...The Hill - 42m -
Judge adjusts ruling blocking Musk, DOGE from Treasury Department payment systems
A federal judge Tuesday clarified that a ruling preventing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems does not extend to ...The Hill - 42m