A judge halted the trial of New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday to gather additional evidence, according to a new court order.
US District Judge Dale Ho has ordered an outside lawyer to intervene in the case and argue whether the charges should be dismissed.
Adams faces fraud, bribery, and other charges, but he denies any wrongdoing. Officials in the Trump administration hope to dismiss the case against him, claiming that it has jeopardized his ability to advance the president’s agenda.
Adams’ trial, which was supposed to take place in mid-April, has been postponed indefinitely. Paul Clement, a longtime US Supreme Court lawyer, has been named as the outside counsel, with oral arguments possibly beginning on March 14.
Clement is a former US Solicitor General who served under George W. Bush. He has frequently represented conservative positions on the Supreme Court.
In court documents, Judge Ho stated that Clement’s appointment is “appropriate,” particularly given the public importance of the case.
Justice Department lawyers defended their decision to end Adams’ criminal case in front of a judge earlier this week.
Emil Bove, a top department official and Trump’s criminal defense attorney, directed federal prosecutors to drop the case last week.
Bove claimed that the Adams case had “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” – two of President Donald Trump’s top priorities.
Manhattan’s top prosecutor and six other high-ranking Justice Department officials resigned in protest, claiming there was no legal basis for the directive.
Danielle Sassoon, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, was the first of the top prosecutors to resign. In a letter to the US attorney general, she claimed that Adams’ lawyers, while meeting with Bove and other prosecutors, “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo” in an attempt to dismiss the case.
Bove’s office later filed a motion to dismiss, which prompted the judge to schedule a hearing.
During an interview with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan last week, Adams denied that his side had proposed that the Justice Department drop the case in exchange for immigration measures, a move Sassoon had described as a “quid pro quo”.
Adams dismissed the allegations as “silly”.
Several New York officials, both state and city, have called for Adams’ removal from office or resignation.
Despite having the authority, New York Governor Kathy Hochul decided on Thursday not to remove Adams from office. Instead, she announced plans to limit his authority.
The New York governor said she would propose legislation and measures to increase oversight of the mayor’s office. Adams responded that there would have been no legal reason to remove him.
Hochul proposed creating a new inspector general position in New York City, providing more resources for officials to take legal action against the Trump administration, and increasing funding for the state comptroller’s office to conduct more city oversight.
Adams was charged last year with accepting gifts worth more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours. He denies the charges.
Even before the charges against him were announced, his administration was plagued by staff departures and scandals. Several people in his orbit have also been charged as part of the investigation.
