Justice Department moves to drop case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

The Justice Department has instructed federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to drop the bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The directive came Monday in a letter from acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove. It was not immediately clear how Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney, would respond.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment that accused him of accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.

He was scheduled to stand trial on federal corruption charges starting on April 21 ahead of the DOJ’s announcement.

“As I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent — and he would prevail. Today he has,” the mayor’s defense attorney Alex Spiro said in a statement to ABC News. “The Department of Justice has reevaluated this case and determined it should not go forward… Now, thankfully, the mayor and New York can put this unfortunate and misguided prosecution behind them,” Spiro added.

Adams has spent time with President Donald Trump recently, including meeting with him in South Florida and attending his inauguration.

The mayor has the backing of Trump, who has claimed Adams was unjustly charged by federal prosecutors and has said he would “take a look” at a pardon for him. “I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” Trump said of Adams during a press briefing in December.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.