A judge denied New York City Mayor Eric Adams' request to dismiss the bribery charges.
In a 30-page decision handed down Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said Adams was correct in arguing that the government's claims in his case did not meet the legal standard for bribery. .
Ho ruled there was no need to dismiss the more serious of the five charges against the mayor.
Shortly after the charges against Adams were announced, his attorney Alex Spiro called for the charges to be dropped, arguing that prosecutors had failed to prove that Adams accepted bribes and calling the charges “very vague.” Ta.
Mr. Adams is accused of receiving “improper and valuable benefits” from a wealthy businessman and at least one Turkish government official over a period of more than a decade.
The mayor also faces charges of wire fraud and solicitation of donations from foreigners.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mr. Spiro argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that Mr. Adams accepted bribes for allegedly pressuring the fire department to open buildings in Turkey without safety inspections.
In Tuesday's verdict, Ho argued that this was a matter for the jury to resolve.
Spiro said in a statement to Politico that the prosecutor's case was “very contrived” and that it took months for the court to respond in dismissing the charges. Spiro filed his application for termination in late September.
President-elect Trump said Monday that he would consider a presidential pardon for Adams.
At the press conference, Trump was asked whether he would consider pardoning Adams. The president-elect said he would consider it because he believes Adams has been “pretty unfairly treated.”
