New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) vowed that he would work to regain his constituents’ trust after the Justice Department (DOJ) directed federal prosecutors to dismiss the corruption case against him.
Adams said on Tuesday in an address from City Hall that he is grateful to the DOJ for its “honesty” in its decision and maintained his innocence as he since first being indicted in September on charges including bribery, wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. He called for moving on from the accusations to focus on representing the city he leads but recognized that trust in him has been shaken.
“It’s time to move forward,” he said. “But despite the fact that I am no longer facing legal questions, I also understand that many New Yorkers will still question my character, and I know that I must continue to regain your trust.”
The case stemmed from allegations that for years Adams accepted and sought “valuable benefits” from wealthy foreign businesspeople and a Turkish government official in exchange for favors. The indictment said this began in 2014 and continued during his 2021 mayoral campaign and during his tenure as mayor.
Analysts had speculated that the Big Apple mayor may receive a pardon from President Trump or that the case against him may be dropped with Trump back in the White House. Adams has increasingly moved closer to Trump since last year and has avoided publicly criticizing him as many other prominent Democrats have done.
Adams has maintained his actions, including his decision to meet with Trump just before Inauguration Day, are to look out for the city’s interests but avoided saying if he would accept a pardon from Trump. Critics have accused him of looking out for his self-interest and prioritizing himself over standing up for his constituents.
Adams said Tuesday that he never broke the law, nor did he direct anyone to break the law on his or his campaign’s behalf and would never place a “personal benefit” over his “solemn responsibility” as mayor.
The memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directing the dismissal of the case doesn’t assess the case’s strength but argues that it “improperly interfered” with Adams’s 2025 reelection campaign and “unduly restricted” his ability to focus on illegal immigration and violent crime.
The Democratic mayor emphasized successes under his administration, saying that city government has “never been stronger.” He pointed to drops in shootings, homicides and subway crimes, increases in affordable housing, a record number of jobs and sending 185,000 migrants through the system and out of the city’s care, among others.
“The real news is that the women and men of my administration have delivered for the broken people of New York just like I promised we would,” Adams said. “Those are the facts. Many people continue to feed whatever false narratives they want, but no one can dispute the numbers.”
But, he is still facing an uphill battle for his reelection campaign with several notable challengers opposing him in the Democratic primary as his polling and favorability numbers have been been poor. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) could be his most significant opponent, if he enters the race as he is expected to as soon as this month.
