by Glenn Kirschner
Feb 12, 2025 All the "King's" Men: Trump's lackeys and their disservice to America
Donald Trump's Department of Justice seems to be leaving the honest practice of the law behind. DOJ leadership directed federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney's Office to dismiss all criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
In a remarkable admission, a DOJ memo says they are not dismissing the case based on "assessing the strength of the evidence", but due to the "restricted ability (of Adams) to help the Trump administration."
This video discusses the three main takeaways from this searingly unjust development.
Transcript
So friends, Donald Trump's department of
justice has signaled that it intends to
dismiss, or really more accurately, to
withdraw criminal charges against New
York city mayor Eric Adams, and it sure
looks like they are preparing to hold
those charges over the head of Mayor
Adams. To what
end? You know friends, this is no way to
run a Department of
Justice. Let's talk about that because
Justice matters.
[Music]
Hey all. Glenn Kirschner here. So
friends, a Federal grand jury handed down
a 57-page indictment detailing the
allegations against New York city mayor
Eric Adams and specifically charging
Adams with conspiracy and bribery and
wire fraud and other
crimes, and even though the evidence in
that 57-page indictment looks
strong, Donald Trump's Department of
Justice is seeking to dismiss the case
against
him. Let's start with the new reporting. This from CBS News:
"Justice Department
tells prosecutors to drop case against
New York city mayor Eric
Adams."
And that article begins:
The Department of Justice told Federal
prosecutors in New York to drop their
corruption case against New York mayor
Eric Adams citing his restricted
ability to help the Trump Administration
enforce its immigration policies.
You know friends, this is a special kind of
lawlessness, and a really nefarious kind
of leverage it appears Trump's DOJ is
exerting against Eric Adams. We'll talk
more about that leverage in a
minute. The article
continues:
Acting Deputy attorney general
Emil Bove, sent a memo instructing
prosecutors in the southern district of
New York U.S. attorney's office, to abandon
the charges. "You are directed as
authorized by the Attorney General, to
dismiss the pending charges," Bove wrote in
a memo Monday adding that the department
reached this conclusion without
assessing the strength of the evidence,
or the legal theories on which the case
is based, and in no way calls into
question the integrity and efforts of
the prosecutors who brought the case.
Instead, Bove wrote that the timing of the
charges, and the former US attorney who
brought the case, created appearances of
impropriety, and that the probe into
Adams' office has unduly restricted mayor
Adam's ability to devote full attention
and resources to the illegal immigration
and violent crime that occurred in his
city under President Joe Biden. Bove added
that the charges against Adams can be
reconsidered by the southern district of
New York federal prosecutors after
the November 2025 New York City mayoral
election."
And what that sounds like to me,
is Donald Trump's DOJ saying, "So look
Adams, we will be holding these charges
over your head, so
you best do as we
say. The article continues:
The stunning
decision comes after Department lawyers
met with Adams' attorneys and Manhattan
Federal prosecutors in late January
where senior officials discussed
dropping the charges against the
embattled mayor. In September Adams was
indicted on five counts including
bribery, conspiracy, and campaign Finance
violations. He pleaded not guilty to all
charges. The mayor's trial is scheduled
to begin in April. The decision to drop
the charges will still need to be
formally submitted by prosecutors and
approved by the judge overseeing the
case.
Friends, I think by any objective
assessment of what's going on here, this
is a stunning example of governmental
misconduct. FBI agents, and undoubtedly
lots of other law enforcement agents and
agencies, but FBI agents and federal
prosecutors, public servants, all
undoubtedly worked their tails off
investigating these suspected crimes, and
presenting what was almost certainly a
mountain of evidence to a grand jury and
obtained a public corruption indictment
detailing the alleged crimes of Eric
Adams. And Donald Trump's dirty DOJ just
brushes it all
aside, You know what an insult to the FBI
agents, to the federal prosecutors, to the
Grand jurors, and the many others who
work to put this important public
corruption case together, and what a
victimization of the people of New
York.
So friends, what are
three of the many takeaways from this
horrific development, this searing abuse
and Injustice. Well, first of all this
decision to dismiss these charges, or
withdraw them and potentially hold them
over Eric Adams head, has nothing to do
with the strength of the evidence
supporting these criminal charges. How do
we know that? Because Donald Trump's DOH
told us so. It said that the Department
reached this conclusion without
assessing the strength of the evidence.
Friends, once a case has been
indicted, the strength of the evidence is
pretty much the only thing that should
come into play when prosecutors are
considering dismissing an indictment
that they worked so hard to obtain, and
that a grand jury handed down. No, it
should be based only on the strength the
quality the quantity of the evidence the
ability of the prosecutors to use that
evidence to prove guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. But Donald Trump's
Department of Justice said it has nothing
to do with the strength of the evidence,
but it has everything to do with
something else. According to Donald
Trump's Department of Justice, takeaway
number
two. it's all about Eric Adams' restricted
ability to help the Trump
Administration.
Friends, can you imagine,
that it has nothing to do with the strength
of the evidence; rather, it has everything
to do with Eric Adams' ability to help
Donald Trump and his
administration?
This is the legal upside
down. This is not the way the criminal
justice system is supposed to
work. And that brings us to the third
takeaway
with these cases being dismissed. They can be re-indicted
at the pleasure of the Department of
Justice, Donald Trump's Department of
Justice. And they are being dismissed, or
withdrawn, because they expect Eric Adams
to help the Trump Administration. You know,
in undefined ways: immigration;
fighting violent crime.
Yeah right. Sure.
What do you think Eric Adams will do
to keep these charges from being dropped
on his head anew, as Donald Trump's
Department of Justice said they are
prepared to do? Talk about
leverage. Do we suspect Eric Adams would
do damn near
anything the Trump Administration wanted
him to do to keep from being
re-indicted? Friends, this is not the way
the Department of Justice is supposed to
operate
Because Justice matters. Friends try to hang in there.
Please stay safe, please stay tuned and I
look forward to talking with you all
again tomorrow
[Music]
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Justice Department orders charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams dismissed: The mayor was charged with bribery, fraud and other counts. Legal experts questioned the Trump administration’s justification for the move, and one law enforcement official called the order “transparent corruption.”
by Ken Dilanian, Ryan J. Reilly and Tom Winter
NBC News
Feb. 10, 2025, 5:16 PM MST / Updated Feb. 10, 2025, 7:57 PM MST
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/er ... rcna191600
Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a senior Justice Department official said Monday evening.
The order is for all charges against Adams to be dismissed, and the dismissal is without prejudice, the official said, meaning charges could be refiled in the future.
The charges have not yet been dismissed, and federal prosecutors in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
A formal dismissal request would be filed in court by prosecutors overseen by Danielle R. Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where the charges were brought. A motion to dismiss would also be reviewed by a judge.
Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro called the planned dismissal a victory. “As I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent — and he would prevail. Today he has,” Spiro said in a statement.
In a memo, Bove argued that the indictment of Adams in September came too close to this year's mayoral primary in June and that it limited Adams' ability to aid President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants and to fight crime.
Bove said Adams' case would be reviewed by a new Trump-appointed U.S. attorney after the general election for mayor in November.
Bove, without citing specific evidence, also suggested that the charges were politically motivated. “It cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior Administration’s immigration policies before the charges were filed," Bove wrote.
Professor Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at New York University Law School, rejected Bove’s explanation.
“Although dressed up as a concern for appearances and despite his disclaimer," Gillers said, "Bove’s memo is really a baseless and offensive slur against the former U.S. attorney and the lawyers who worked on the Adams case at the premier federal prosecutorial office in the nation.”
The office also prosecuted Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison last month after he was convicted of bribery, obstruction of justice and other charges.
The indictments of Adams and Menendez, two prominent Democratic elected officials, during the 2024 presidential election cycle were generally seen as political blows to the Democratic Party. And the fact that charges could be filed against Adams again could make him beholden to the Trump administration.
A federal law enforcement official called the order to withdraw the charges “horrific” and “just transparent corruption.”
Adams, a former New York police captain elected mayor in 2021, was charged in an indictment unsealed in September with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.
The indictment accused him of taking $100,000 worth of free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays from wealthy Turkish nationals and at least one government official in a nearly decadelong corruption scheme.
Adams has pleaded not guilty. He has said that he is innocent, that the charges are politically motivated and that he would fight the charges.
Trump suggested on Dec. 16 that he would consider pardoning Adams, saying that Adams "was treated pretty unfairly” and that he would need to see the case, “because I don’t know the facts.”
Adams met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, days before Trump was inaugurated as president. He said they discussed a number of topics but “did not discuss my legal case.” Adams later attended Trump’s inauguration.
An attorney for Adams contacted Justice Department leadership late last month about dropping the criminal case.
Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough president in 2013 before he was elected mayor of New York. Damian Williams, the Biden-appointed U.S. attorney who brought the charges, said Adams was alleged to have been taking bribes and soliciting illegal campaign contributions dating to his time as the borough president.
Adams ran for mayor on a platform of fighting crime, beating Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who founded the 1970s-era anti-crime patrol the Guardian Angeles.
Williams announced his resignation in December after Trump won the election.
In announcing criminal charges, Williams had said Adams allowed a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection as part of the alleged bribery scheme.
“Adams put the interests of his benefactors, including a foreign official, above those of his constituents,” Williams said at the time.
Spiro, Adams' attorney, said Monday that "the mayor never used his official position for personal benefit. Nor did he have any role in violating campaign finance laws."
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington.
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Phil Helsel, Adam Reiss and David Rohde contributed.