LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump's Justice Department is ordering prosecutors to drop the case against the Democratic mayor of the nation's largest city.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
New York City mayor Eric Adams was indicted last year on corruption charges, with a trial scheduled for April. He's also up for reelection this year. Adams has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
FADEL: Joining me now with the latest is Brigid Bergin. She's a senior politics reporter at member station WNYC in New York. Good morning, Brigid.
BRIGID BERGIN, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: OK. So for those who haven't been following this closely, just lay out the charges the mayor was facing.
BERGIN: Yeah. He was charged in September in a five-count criminal indictment. Prosecutors alleged that Adams accepted about a hundred thousand dollars in luxury travel perks, as well as illegal foreign campaign contributions from people connected to the Turkish government in exchange for official acts from City Hall. Adams, as you said, has pleaded not guilty to those charges and has been really pretty vocal about calling the case politically motivated without really any evidence.
He says it was payback for speaking out against the Biden administration's handling of the migrant crisis. And since President Trump's election, he's been very careful not to criticize him. He visited him at Mar-a-Lago - attended the inauguration. Adams even held a meeting yesterday with heads of city agencies, according to sources at the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the administration. They were also told not to publicly criticize President Trump.
FADEL: So why does the Justice Department say this case should be dropped?
BERGIN: So they sent a memo to federal prosecutors outlining two very specific reasons. First, it says the charges were filed too close to the mayor's reelection. And the second reason relates to the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement actions. The memo states that the pending prosecution has, quote, "unduly restricted" the mayor's ability to devote his full attention to illegal immigration and really his ability to support the Trump administration's efforts.
The memo also seeks to have the mayor's security clearance restored and says that no further steps should be taken as it relates to the investigation, at least for now.
FADEL: And what is the mayor saying?
BERGIN: So there was a post on the social media platform X last night. It was from a Fox News reporter who actually caught up with the mayor, who was out at a restaurant. Adams has said, you know, he's speaking with his attorney, still looking at what's happening. Normally, on Tuesdays, he holds a weekly off-topic press conference. But instead, he's scheduled to deliver an address today at noon that's going to stream online. So at this point, there's not going to be any chance for reporters to really ask him about any questions about whatever it is he announces.
FADEL: So at this point, does this all mean that Adams' legal troubles are over?
BERGIN: Well, not quite yet, Leila. Now the acting U.S. attorney of the Southern District will need to decide whether to follow the direction in that memo, and the judge overseeing the case would need to decide on whether to sign off on dropping the charges. You know, those actions could set off another set of repercussions in this office that's really known for taking on these high-profile corruption cases. We haven't heard from the Southern District yet. It's also worth noting that the memo explicitly says the charges will be dropped without prejudice, which means they could potentially be brought again. The memo states the case should be reviewed after the general election in November.
FADEL: That's WNYC senior politics reporter Brigid Bergin. Thank you, Brigid.
BERGIN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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