What happened
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho Wednesday dismissed federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as requested by President Donald Trump's Justice Department. But Ho said he found the Trump administration's decision "troubling" and dropped the case "with prejudice," rejecting DOJ efforts to retain the ability to reintroduce the charges.
Who said what
Emil Bove, a Trump DOJ appointee, had ordered prosecutors to drop the charges "without prejudice" because prosecuting Adams would hamper his ability to aid Trump's immigration crackdown. Several top prosecutors in New York and Washington quit rather than carry out the order.
Judge Ho wrote that he couldn't force the government to pursue the charges, but "everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions." Keeping the case open, he said, would "create the unavoidable perception" that Adams was "more beholden" to Trump than to "his own constituents." Adams celebrated the ruling, saying he "did nothing wrong" and was "gonna win" reelection in November.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Ho's ruling was the "best-case scenario" for Adams, but "how it played out did him no favors with voters," The New York Times said. The "sordid soap opera" has "perhaps irreparably damaged" his already weak standing with New Yorkers.
-
Did Trump just push India into China's arms?Today's Big Question Tariffs disrupt American efforts to align with India
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
