Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday declared that a federal judge granting the Trump Justice Department’s motion to drop his federal indictment “marks the end of this chapter” — then proceeded to promote a top Trump administration official’s book about the “deep state” in the same speech.
Hizzoner made the remarks during remarks on the steps of the mayoral residence of Gracie Mansion shortly after Federal District Court Judge Dale Ho ruled in favor of permanently dismissing his five corruption charges.
The judge, however, did not rule on the substance of the case, in which Adams is accused of accepting luxury travel benefits and illegal foreign campaign donations in exchange for official favors. He also noted that those who advocated for keeping the charges alive made arguments that had “merit.”
Furthermore, Ho all but agreed with widespread allegations that Trump’s DOJ dropped the case in exchange for Adams’ cooperation on implementing his immigration agenda, saying it “smacks of a bargain.”
Nonetheless, Adams said he did nothing wrong and slammed the now-scuttled case as “baseless.” He also insisted the only people he is “solely beholden” to are New Yorkers.
“As you have heard, this case, the judge has dismissed it without prejudice, making it clear that it can never be brought back,” Adams said. “Let me be clear, as I’ve said all along: this case should have never been brought, and I did nothing wrong.”
‘Trying to find the rationale’ in Patel book
Near the end of his remarks, Adams brandished a copy of “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy” — a book authored by President Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel — in voicing his belief the case against him was politically motivated.
In the book, Patel purported his belief that the federal government is controlled by the so-called “deep state” — a conspiracy theory popular on the political right that federal bureaucrats control the levers of power and undermine the will of the American people.
The book includes a list of 60 people who Patel claimed were part of the deep state, namely Democrats and Republicans who broke with Trump over his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.
While holding up a copy of the book, Adams claimed that New Yorkers “stop me all the time in trying to find the rationale behind this,” appearing to refer to the reason why federal prosecutors brought charges against the mayor.
“I found it in this book,” Adams said. “I’m going to encourage every New Yorker to read it. Read it and understand how we can never allow this to happen to another innocent American.”
Adams’ comments appeared to align with his contention that former President Biden’s Justice Department brought corruption charges against him for criticizing the administration’s handling of immigration. Trump DOJ official Emil Bove made the same claim in his initial memo instructing Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop Adams’ case.
Yet, in his ruling, Judge Ho made clear that Bove’s argument that the prosecutors who brought Adams’ case had an “appearance of impropriety” is “unsupported by any objective evidence.”
“The record before the Court indicates that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prosecutors who worked on this case followed all appropriate Justice Department guidelines,” Ho wrote. “There is no evidence—zero—that they had any improper motives.”
Adams’ move also appeared to show that he is still willing to embrace Trump, as he has over the past few months, even after his charges were dropped.
