“Normally, courts are aided in their decision-making through our system of adversarial testing," Judge Ho wrote, “which can be particularly helpful in cases presenting unusual fact patterns or in case of great public importance.”

He said that because the #DOJ & the mayor both want the charges dropped, “there has been no adversarial testing of the government’s position.”

Read Judge Ho’s Order in the #EricAdams #Corruption Case:

https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/a6299cfc2221a707/48b99d06-full.pdf

The judge, Dale E. Ho of Federal District Court in Manhattan, also called for additional briefs from the parties & said he would hold an oral argument on March 14 if he felt it necessary.

Judge Ho’s decision, explained in a 5-pg ruling, will prolong a tumultuous episode that has led to political & legal upheavals, with federal prosecutors in NY & Washington resigning & several of #EricAdams’s campaign opponents calling for him to step down.

A federal judge on Friday deferred ruling on the #DOJ’s request to drop the #corruption case against Mayor #EricAdams of #NYC, & appointed an outside lawyer to present #independent arguments on the motion, which was otherwise unopposed.

The lawyer the judge appointed, #PaulClement, is a political #conservative who was the US solicitor general during President George W. Bush’s admin.

In an insane statement after today’s hearing, #EmilBove, the acting deputy AG, invited other #DOJ officials to resign if they disagree w/his efforts to dismiss the charges against #EricAdams.

Here is the start of my #DOJ / #EricAdams dismissal hearing :

https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/114032102673968065

We did not learn much new at this hearing. But Judge Ho compelled the acting no. 2 official at the #DOJ to defend the rationale for abandoning the case against Mayor #EricAdams & ultimately decided that he would take his time in assessing the government’s motion to dismiss. Already, this means that an embarrassing episode for the #Trump #Justice Department — one that led to the resignation of at least 8 prosecutors — will be prolonged.

Judge Ho says he will not make a decision about dismissing the case from the bench, and will instead consider everything put forth today, and make a reasoned decision about what to do next. “I’m grateful for your patience as I consider these issues carefully,” he said.

Court is adjourned.

It is worth noting that #DanielleSassoon, the former head of the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, said there was indeed a #QuidProQuo offered by #EricAdams’s lawyer in a meeting she attended, & that one of her prosecutors took notes & got scolded for doing so by #EmilBove, who had the notes collected at the end of the meeting.

#EmilBove continues to insist that the judge’s questioning of the mayor earlier mooted any talk of a #QuidProQuo arrangement between the government & the mayor. “You have a record, undisputed, that there is no quid pro quo,” he says.

Bove is telling the judge that if #EricAdams & the #DOJ say so, he must accept that there was no quid pro quo to drop the case.

Judge Ho asks Alex Spiro, a lawyer for #EricAdams, about his assertion in a letter that Adams did not promise further assistance with federal #immigration efforts in exchange for the case’s abandonment. Spiro says he was responding “to anyone who suggests such a thing, because it never happened.” He offers to swear an oath in court to that effect but Ho does not ask him to do so.

There have been at least 2 requests that Judge Ho allow amicus curaie “friend of the court” briefs from outsiders that would argue against the government’s request to drop the charges. One request came from 3 former US attorneys & another came from Common Cause, a good-government advocacy group. The judge just referred to those requests & no surprise #EmilBove indicated he has some objections to them.

The judge then turns to #EmilBove’s order to the acting US attorney in Manhattan, #DanielleSassoon, instructing her to abandon the case. The judge asks whether Ho can consider what is in the memo, & Bove says “no.” He says that case #law suggests that Ho does not have the discretion to do so, even as he acknowledges whether a judge is entitled to inquire whether the order was made “in bad faith.”

Judge Ho brings up a letter sent by #EricAdams’s defense team to #DOJ officials earlier this month. The letter makes many of the arguments that eventually appeared in #EmilBove’s order to prosecutors seeking to #dismiss the case, &, when they didn’t obey him, the dismissal motion to which he signed his name. Alex Spiro, one of Adams’s lawyers, acknowledges that the government motion echoes arguments he has made for months.

#EmilBove calls the abandonment of the #EricAdams case “a standard exercise of prosecutorial discretion,” a ridiculous thing to say. Judge Ho moves on & asks if Bove’s rationale would be similar if the police commissioner were subject to a similar investigation. Bove says yes.

This means, in effect, that the #DOJ will prioritize officials’ cooperation w/ #Trump’s agenda over whether they are heeding the #law.

#EmilBove may be referring to investigations into prosecutors who resigned rather than agree to seek the case’s dismissal. Bove said last week that those inquiries would be initiated.

Judge Ho asks Bove about his assertion that the prosecution is interfering w/the 2025 mayoral election. Bove responds that the mayor’s very presence in court today “is part of the problem,” adding that the case is hindering the performance of the mayor’s duties.

The fact that #EmilBove affirmed that the charges could be brought again is a big deal. It is that circumstance — the idea that the charges could be resurrected after the November mayoral election — that has created the notion that #EricAdams will remain under #Trump’s thumb through the duration of his first term in office.

Bove says that while the DOJ could revisit the charges against the mayor, “I don’t have any plans for that at this time.”

The judge addressed his first question to #EmilBove, as the parties began to discuss the fact that prosecutors are seeking dismissal of the case without prejudice.

The judge asked whether there are any limits to circumstances in which the govt could bring charges in the future. This line of questioning is highly relevant: It’s been noted that dismissing the case without prejudice effectively gives the #Trump #DOJ a means of controlling the mayor.

#EmilBove, the acting deputy AG, is representing the government alone. No one else is sitting at his table.

It was Bove, #Trump’s former #criminal defense lawyer for, who asked other prosecutors to seek to abandon the #EricAdams #corruption case, prompting multiple resignations. That he will be representing the government himself could allow the judge to question him directly about the events that led to his order to abandon the case.