Fate of NYC Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case now in the hands of a judge
New York City Mayor Eric Adams appeared in court Wednesday for a hearing on whether or not to drop the federal corruption charges against him.
The judge overseeing the case, Dale Ho, heard from the mayor, his legal team and federal prosecutors on the request to dismiss the case.
Adams was met with "boos" as he entered the courthouse Wednesday afternoon. Once inside the courtroom, he was seen hugging his pastor and then sitting beside his attorney, Alex Spiro.
What happened in court
Judge Ho began by asking a series of questions to determine whether the mayor was competent and he understood the motion to dismiss. He also asked if the charges could be brought again at a future date.
"They could be, under the department's discretion," Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove responded.
Asked if he understood that, Adams replied, "Yes, I understand that and judge, I have not committed a crime."
Judge Ho also asked if anyone had promised Adams anything to consent to the motion. Adams said no, and Bove told the judge "you have a record undisputed there is no quid pro quo."
In last week's resignation letter, former U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon alleged the Justice Department's move to drop the charges amounted to quid pro quo in exchange for Adams' cooperation with the Trump administration's immigration policies. Sassoon wrote the ability of the government to re-indict Adams in the future creates ethical problems "by implicitly threatening future prosecutions if Adams's cooperation with enforcing the immigration laws proves unsatisfactory to the Department."
Bove said Adams even being in court Wednesday interfered with his ability to run the city and there are "appearances of impropriety." Judge Ho probed further, asking if the prosecution was actually motivated by impropriety or whether it has the appearance of it.
"I think the only question is whether I made these representations in bad faith," Bove said.
Bove also said the indictment prevents Adams from being privy to certain sensitive information.
Judge Ho said he was "not going to shoot from the hip right here on the bench" and will consider everything. He then concluded the hearing.
Adams said nothing to reporters outside the courthouse.
A decision from the judge could come in the next few days. So far, he has not given any indication as to what he will decide.
The judge is under increasing demands to scrutinize the federal government's reason for dropping the charges. At least two outside parties have weighed in.
On Monday, three former U.S. attorneys for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut filed a brief, asking the judge to conduct an extensive inquiry to determine if the U.S. Department of Justice is using the dismissal of the indictment as a means of securing the mayor's cooperation with President Trump's anti-immigration policies.
That same day, the watchdog group Common Cause asked the judge to deny the DOJ's motion and to appoint a special counsel.
The hearing comes amid growing calls for the mayor to resign or be removed from office.
Gov. Kathy Hochul considering her options
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was among those closely watching the hearing. The governor has the power to remove the mayor, but it has never been done before in the state's history.
On Tuesday, she met with key players in city politics at her office in Manhattan, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor.
Calls have been growing louder for the mayor to resign or be removed by the governor since the acting deputy attorney general's directive last week to dismiss his corruption case. Since then, at least seven federal prosecutors have resigned and four of Adams' eight top deputy mayors announced they are stepping down.
Sources tell CBS News New York the mayor is eyeing Randy Mastro, who served in the Giuliani administration, to replace one of them, as well as the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry.
"Mayor Adams has a responsibility to decisively demonstrate to the people of New York City that he has the capacity to continue to govern in the best interest of New Yorkers, as opposed to taking orders from the Trump administration," Jeffries said Tuesday.
"If he cannot explain how he's going to fill these vacant seats and run city government, then I will seek to convene a meeting of the Committee on Mayoral Inability - that's essentially like an impeachment committee," Lander said earlier this week.
Lander says if that inability committee decides the mayor is unable to fulfill his duties, the City Council will then have 21 days to vote on whether the mayor should be removed from office.
A City Hall spokesperson told CBS News New York in a statement that Adams will continue to serve the 8.3 million New Yorkers and is available to speak with Hochul.
"If ever I reach the point that I believe I do not have the capacity to handle the city that I love, under crisis and non-crisis, I would not stay in this job," Adams said Wednesday night in an interview on NY1. "I would leave."
