Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged the federal judge mulling whether to toss his historic corruption case to finally issue a ruling — as a deadline for his re-election campaign approaches this week.
Mayoral hopefuls on Thursday must submit petitions with at least 3,750 signatures to appear on the June Democratic primary ballot, lawyers for Adams pointed out to Manhattan federal Judge Dale Ho in a letter filed with the court.
“We respectfully urge the court to issue its decision as soon as practicable,” attorney Alex Spiro wrote to the judge.
It’s been about three weeks since powerhouse conservative lawyer Paul Clement, whom Ho tapped for advice on whether to toss the charges, recommended that the judge dismiss the case for good.
But Ho, who had promised to rule “expeditiously,” has kept mum on whether he’ll heed Clement’s advice.
Sources close to the mayor have griped that the lingering indictment — in which Adams is accused of accepting travel perk bribes from Turkish diplomats — has crippled his ability to hit the campaign trail.
President Trump’s Justice Department wants the judge to toss the case but only “without prejudice,” which would leave open the possibility of reviving it later.
DOJ officials have admitted that their bid to toss the case isn’t based on the strength of the evidence, but rather to free up Adams to govern and help with Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda.
The DOJ’s unusual move sparked outrage from the lead prosecutor on Adams’ case — who blasted it as a “dismissal-with-leverage” gambit that would keep the Democratic mayor beholden to Trump.
Clement argued the case should be thrown out for good, or “with prejudice,” in order to avoid the appearance that Adams would be “more attendant” to Trump than to New Yorkers.
Other legal observers have suggested that the judge decline to dismiss the case at all and appoint a special prosecutor, though such a scenario is considered unlikely.
While Adams’ camp is antsy about when the judge will make a ruling, legal experts told The Post that the delay could just stem from Ho being “very careful” given the unprecedented legal issues at play.
Adams has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges, including bribery and corruption.
