Washington — Two top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have launched an investigation into the Justice Department for seeking to dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday, Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Jasmine Crockett of Texas accused the Justice Department of attempting to cover up an alleged quid pro quo to drop the corruption charges against Adams if he assisted the Trump administration in carrying out its immigration policies.
“Last month, troubling reports emerged about the Trump Administration’s demand that federal prosecutors move to dismiss the serious public corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams as part of a blatant and illegal quid pro quo to secure the Mayor’s loyal assistance in executing the Trump Administration’s mass arrest and deportation policies,” the letter said.
“Not only did the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempt to pressure career prosecutors into carrying out this illegal quid pro quo, it appears that Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was personally engaged in a cover-up by destroying evidence and retaliating against career prosecutors who refused to follow his illegal and unethical orders,” it continued. “We write to demand that you immediately put an end to the cover-up and retaliation and provide documents and information about these disturbing accounts to Congress.”
Adams, a Democrat, was indicted on five counts in September, including bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. He was accused of accepting illegal campaign donations, flight upgrades and other travel benefits from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals in exchange for political favors. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
In February, Bove instructed federal prosecutors in New York to drop the corruption case, citing Adams’ “restricted” ability to help the Trump administration enforce its immigration policies.
The move to drop the charges prompted the resignation of Manhattan’s top career federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, who said the request raised “serious concerns that render the contemplated dismissal inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts.”
“It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams’s opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment. Nor will a court likely find that such an improper exchange is consistent with the public interest,” Sassoon wrote.
The charges have yet to be formally dropped.
In their letter to the Justice Department, Raskin and Crockett said the department “has strayed far from its principles of equal justice under the law by dismissing a serious criminal public corruption matter in exchange for assistance with the White House’s immigration priorities.”
“Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the Trump DOJ allowing criminals to go free — whether they assaulted police officers, sold drugs to the community, or are corrupt politicians — as long as the criminals pledge loyalty to President Trump,” they wrote.
The lawmakers have requested that the Justice Department turn over notes related to a Jan. 31 meeting between federal prosecutors and Adams’ lawyers, and asked whether any of the documents have been destroyed. They also requested the White House and Justice Department communications related to the investigation into Adams. They gave Bondi a March 17 deadline.
But Raskin and Crockett, who are in the minority party, have limited authority to take action against the Justice Department if their requests are denied.
