NEW YORK: A New York judge on Friday said he would not immediately dismiss Eric Adams’ corruption case, but ordered the Democratic New York City mayor’s trial delayed indefinitely after the Justice Department asked him to dismiss charges.

In a written ruling, US District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan said he would appoint an outside lawyer, Paul Clement of the law firm Clement & Murphy PLLC, to present arguments against the prosecutors’ bid to dismiss to help him make a decision.

Justice Department officials in Washington asked Ho to dismiss the charges against Adams on Feb 14. That came about after several prosecutors resigned rather than follow orders from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump and his former personal criminal defence lawyer, to seek dismissal of the case brought last year by prosecutors during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration.

The Trump Justice Department argued that dismissal is needed so Adams can focus on helping Trump crack down on illegal immigration. The controversy has sparked a political crisis in the most populous US city. Senior Democrats have said that dismissing the charges makes Adams beholden to Trump’s administration.

Adams, 64, was charged last September with taking bribes and campaign donations from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him. In a Feb 10 letter, Bove ordered Danielle Sassoon, the acting Manhattan US attorney, to seek dismissal, stating that the charges got in the way of the mayor’s re-election bid.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2025