New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to address the public this week following the Department of Justice’s decision to drop bribery and corruption charges against him.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who previously represented former President Donald Trump in his hush money criminal trial, instructed U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and the Southern District of New York to dismiss the charges in a two-page memo. Bove stated that Adams should be allowed to focus on crime and immigration issues, adding that no further investigative steps should be taken against the mayor until after November’s election. The memo calls for a post-election review of the case.
Adams strongly denied the allegations, calling them “entirely false” and “based on lies.” He asserted that federal authorities had unfairly targeted him for his advocacy on behalf of New Yorkers and vowed to fight any charges in court.
Federal scrutiny of Adams’s administration intensified in recent months. Authorities searched the homes of several top city officials and seized electronic devices, including those belonging to Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who resigned on September 12. Investigators also confiscated the phone of Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former police officer who now runs a nightclub security business. Prosecutors have reportedly examined whether Manhattan and Queens bars paid James Caban to act as a police liaison and whether those establishments received special treatment from local precincts.
The indictment followed a series of federal probes into Adams’s administration, which began when investigators seized the mayor’s electronic devices after searching the home of his chief fundraiser.
The dropped charges have not silenced calls for Adams’s resignation. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who are running in next year’s mayoral race, have publicly urged him to step down. “The hardworking people of New York City deserve a government and leadership they can trust. Right now, they don’t have it,” Lander posted on X. The New York Working Families Party also demanded Adams resign, stating that he has “lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve.”
Elected in 2021, Adams campaigned on a promise to restore public safety and lead the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. His tenure has faced criticism over issues including the migrant crisis, subway safety, and city spending, particularly on education.
Despite the legal challenges and political pressure, Adams remained defiant. “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers, I would be a target—and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit,” he said in a video statement.
