New York City Mayor Eric Adams leaves court on Nov. 1, 2024. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)
The timing of the meeting, along with the Justice Department’s push to drop the charges against Adams, led to the resignation of multiple Justice Department officials who assert the exchange amounts to a "quid pro quo" offer erasing Adams' charges and providing the Trump administration more support to tackle illegal immigration.
But Adams denied such accusations.
"I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never," Adams said in a statement Friday.
Adams was charged in September 2024 with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery; one count of wire fraud; two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals; and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove III issued a memo on Feb. 10 ordering federal prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams due to the timing of the proceedings that have "improperly interfered" with Adams’ campaign in the 2025 mayoral election.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP CASE AGAINST NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, who was temporarily tapped by Trump to lead the office prosecuting New York City Mayor Eric Adams, wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, pictured here, on Feb. 12, 2025, after resigning. (The Associated Press)
"Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case," Sassoon said.
But Bove said the case must be dismissed to prioritize national and public safety in lieu of a case that has been "tainted from the start by troubling tactics."
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"There is no room at the Justice Department for attorneys who refuse to execute on the priorities of the Executive Branch — priorities determined by the American people," Bove said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Feb. 13. "I look forward to working with new leadership at SDNY on the important priorities President Trump has laid out for us to make America safe again."
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-doesnt-decide-whether-dismiss-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-corruption-charges