Senior officials in Trump’s Justice Department have spoken with prosecutors in Manhattan about dropping the corruption case against Eric Adams, the current mayor of New York City, according to the New York Times.
Adams was indicted in September on a litany of charges including bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign contributions. The charges stem from an investigation that dates back to 2021. Adams pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case is expected to go to trial in April.
President Trump and Adams have become friendly in recent months, according to the New York Times, and Trump felt like the Justice Department under former-President Biden treated Adams unfairly. To that end, Trump has even said publicly that he would consider a pardon for Adams in the event of a conviction.
It is not uncommon for Justice Department officials to discuss cases, especially high-profile cases, with their counterparts in various offices. Similarly, it is not uncommon for defense teams to ask the Justice Department to reduce or drop charges altogether. For the record, the prosecutor for the Southern District of New York has not indicated one way or the other whether they are considering dropping the case, but the timing is interesting given the transition of leadership in the Justice Department; none of the top roles (Attorney General, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York, etc.) are confirmed yet so continued conversation on such a high profile case is noteworthy.
