New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed New Yorkers on Wednesday, April 2, reacting to news that Judge Dale E. Ho of the Federal District Court in Manhattan has dismissed “with prejudice,” on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, the bribery and corruption charges brought against the mayor in September 2024, following a November 2023 federal probe into his campaign finances relating to his 2021 mayoral election campaign. On Thursday, April 3, the mayor announced he had dropped out of the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary and is now running as an independent, as reported by Politico.

 

A slew of resignations from the Adams administration were reported around the time of the formal indictment. As reported in February, the DOJ dismissed the charges “without prejudice,” meaning the charges could have been brought against the mayor in the future. However, following the latest DOJ ruling, this is no longer the case. Also in February, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon resigned seemingly amid pressure from the current U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to drop the charges against the mayor.

 

“My fellow New Yorkers, today finally marks the end of this chapter,” the mayor said, thanking his legal team for “seeking and obtaining justice,” specifically his legal counsel, Alex Spiro, adding that he now clearly understands why those “from Jay Z to Baldwin call on him during difficult times.”

 

The mayor continued, “As I’ve said all along, this case should have never been brought and I did nothing wrong. I’m now happy that our city can finally close the book on this and focus solely on the future of our great city. I want to thank New Yorkers who stood by my side, who prayed for me, who supported me from day one, and stuck with me while we focused on the work at hand, and continued to deliver for the nearly 8.5 million New Yorkers who call this city home every day.”

 

He said it was those people he thinks about every morning when he wakes up. “That’s who I am fighting for, each of you who make this city the greatest city on the globe.” The mayor continued, “Also, I want to apologize to New Yorkers for having to go through this with me, the baseless case that should have never been brought in the first place, the lies spread through false leaks, splashed across sensational headlines and all of the distractions.”

 

He added that throughout the case, he never stopped working “not for one day, not for one hour, not for one minute, because you are who I think about every morning; you are my North Star.”

 

The mayor, a former policer officer among other roles, continued, “This is the city that I put on that bulletproof vest for, protecting the children and families, and I think about you every day.” He went on to discuss various achievements by his administration since the indictment was first brought, referring to the reduction of crime to record lows, delivering a record number of jobs, and building affordable housing.

He added in part, “This is the greatest city on the globe, and it’s a privilege being your mayor, something I did not take for granted for one day, and I’m going to continue to serve you. That’s exactly what we’re doing today, because New Yorkers are still counting on us. We need to continue delivering a safer, more affordable city, because families counted on us to accomplish that task.”

 

He continued, “As I have repeatedly said, I have always been solely beholden to the people of this city, no special interest, no political opponents, but just everyday New Yorkers, just you, and I’m going to continue to do that. So, today we turn the page, we move forward together, because the real story of New York City isn’t about me or this case, it’s about you and the bright future we’re building together.”

 

The mayor concluded, “I want to say, God bless you New York City. God bless what we have accomplished. Many of you know my faith and when all of that came at me, Jesus stepped in, and he uses who he uses, and New Yorkers stop me all the time in trying to find the rationale behind this and I found it in this book.”

 

He then held up a book entitled, “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy,” by Kash Pramod Patel, the current FBI director under the Trump administration, who was recently questioned in Congress over security concerns arising from the recent “Signalgate” scandal. 

 

The mayor added, “I’m going to encourage every New Yorker to read it. Read it, and understand how we can never allow this to happen to another innocent American. God bless you.”

 

News of the dismissal of the charges was broadly met with scepticism. Common Cause is an organization which, according to its website, “puts its state and national policy expertise, massive network of grassroots supporters, and nonpartisan approach into action to strengthen our democracy against the challenges it faces today.

 

It issued a statement on behalf of its executive director, Susan Lerner, which read, “Common Cause/NY commends Judge Ho for acting with integrity in the face of undue political pressure from the Trump administration. As Judge Ho clearly states, the decision to dismiss the charges against Mr. Adams with prejudice is not an exoneration for the corruption he is very credibly accused of.”

 

The statement continued, “The Court is limited in its role here and cannot do the job of the prosecution. The fact is that today’s decision is another casualty of the open corruption and political capture of the previously independent Justice Department, and a clear perversion of justice that places an undue burden on voters to operate without the facts and information a trial provides. There are state and local laws that apply here, and Common Cause/NY urges the relevant authorities to evaluate any further action.”

 

For his part, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in part, “Let’s be clear: this wasn’t an exoneration. It was an escape route. Instead of fighting for his innocence in court, the mayor relied on power and privilege that few of us have to avoid his day in court altogether. The judge’s decision made one thing clear: the case was dismissed because Trump’s Justice Department abandoned it, not because Mayor Adams was cleared of wrongdoing. Even the judge called the move ‘unprecedented and breathtaking.'”

 

He added, “This isn’t just about one case — it’s about a pattern. Time and again, Adams has chosen to stand with the powerful instead of the people. He’s refused to push back against the worst of Trump’s policies, and just today he promoted his FBI Director Kash Patel’s ‘book of enemies’.”

 

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is running for mayor in the upcoming Democratic primary, said, “Judge Ho’s decision does not absolve Mayor Adams of his actions. It also does not end the chaos and shame this has brought on our city with other ongoing criminal cases and investigations of the mayor’s office. As Judge Ho stated in his ruling, ‘Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.’ Our city’s mayor should never be in the position of bargaining away New Yorkers and their rights.”

 

She added, “The extraordinary decision was only caused by the quid pro quo attempted between the Trump administration and Eric Adams. It sends a terrible message and is a glaring example of double standards in our justice system where the powerful evade accountability that is often faced by the average person. This undermines equal justice under law that should be a pillar of our justice system.”

 

The speaker concluded, “New Yorkers deserve strong, independent, and focused leadership that won’t bend or cower to Trump and Elon Musk. Protecting our city and working families from their attacks must be our top priority, without the distractions and instability that have compromised this administration.”

 

Meanwhile, americanoversight.org has filed a bar complaint against Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove for alleged “corrupt actions” in the context of the dismissal of the mayor’s bribery and corruption charges and has called for a full investigation of “reported misconduct by Bove,” who [allegedly] pushed for the dismissal of criminal charges in return for Adams’ political cooperation with the Trump administration.

 

We searched on April 3 for press releases and on social media for positive reaction to the case dismissal, which there surely is from the mayor’s supporters, but could not immediately or easily find any.

 

To read some of our previous coverage of this issue and some related coverage, click here, here here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.