Senior Trump Officials Reportedly Spoke to Justice Department About Dropping Eric Adams Indictment

AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Senior officials in President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice discussed with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about possibly dropping corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

According to a report by The New York Times, officials in the DOJ have also spoken with the mayor’s legal defense team led by Alex Spiro — the personal lawyer for the Trump-loving billionaire Elon Musk. Last September, Adams was indicted on multiple charges relating to bribery, fraud, and corruption.

Adams pleaded not guilty and has used the same defense as Trump during his criminal trial by claiming he is being prosecuted for criticizing the Biden administration.

The Times noted that both Adams and Trump have been in direct communication for weeks via phone. Since Trump’s victory, Adams has praised Trump’s immigration policy while also meeting with him as president-elect at Mar-a-Lago and attending the inauguration.

Per the Times, Trump’s nominee to be deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, was not involved in the initial discussions.

Another Justice Department official said all communications between Manhattan prosecutors and Mr. Adams’s legal team about the case had gone through the office of the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, who is also a former Southern District prosecutor and worked with Mr. Blanche on Mr. Trump’s criminal cases.

It is not unusual for leaders of the Justice Department in Washington to discuss high-profile criminal cases with their counterparts in Manhattan, and there is no indication that the Manhattan prosecutors are inclined to drop the case. But the timing of the discussions, before the confirmation of Mr. Trump’s choices for attorney general and U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Pam Bondi and Jay Clayton, raises questions.