Paul Clement, a former solicitor general and previous potential Trump Supreme Court pick, was tapped by a federal judge Friday to weigh in on the motion to dismiss the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. (Getty)
Clement, a seasoned appellate lawyer who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, served as solicitor general under the Bush administration from 2005-2008. He was notably on President Donald Trump's short list of Supreme Court nominees during his first term.
Before taking on the role of the federal government’s top appellate lawyer, Clement served as a deputy solicitor general.
Clement earned his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a master's in economics from Cambridge University.
He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as well as for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
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He went into private practice after his clerkships, joining Kirkland & Ellis' Washington, D.C., office.
Clement also served as chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights before returning to private practice and working as a partner at King & Spalding in D.C., where he headed the firm's appellate practice.
The charges against Adams will remain intact until Ho agrees to dismiss them. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital )
Ho appointed Clement to weigh in on the DOJ's motion to drop the case. Among the questions posed to Clement, the court asks, "Under what circumstances, if leave is granted, dismissal should be with or without prejudice."
"The main point of the rule is to protect the defendant’s rights," McCarthy said. "The judge has no authority to order DOJ to persist in prosecuting Adams, or to appoint a ‘special prosecutor,’ but Clement is an excellent lawyer and can give Judge Ho good advice on whether to accept the plea with the ‘without prejudice’ term in it."
Parties are expected to submit briefings by early March, with oral arguments expected shortly thereafter.
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The charges against Adams will remain intact until Ho agrees to dismiss them.
Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Haley Chi-Sing is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. You can reach her at @haleychising on X.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/who-conservative-superstar-lawyer-potential-scotus-pick-help-eric-adams-case-paul-clement