As Mayor Eric Adams awaited a decision by federal prosecutors in Manhattan over whether to heed the Justice Department’s order to dismiss his five-count corruption indictment, he delivered an address on Tuesday to staunchly defend his character and profess his innocence.
He insisted that the prosecution was based on sensational claims and had put him and his family through an “unnecessary ordeal” that he argued was now over.
“I never broke the law and I never would,” he said in the six-minute speech at City Hall. “I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor.”
Mr. Adams did not address concerns that the potential resolution of his case would make him beholden to President Trump, who has said that he and the mayor were both “persecuted” by prosecutors and that he would consider pardoning Mr. Adams.
Mr. Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers that he was focused on running the city, and he said that he would work to regain their trust.
“You can trust me to keep moving the city forward,” he said.
The acting head of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, Danielle R. Sassoon, must now decide whether to carry out the order to dismiss the charges “as soon as is practicable” by filing a motion with the judge overseeing the case.
The order, by Emil Bove III, the Justice Department’s acting No. 2 official, did not clear Mr. Adams of wrongdoing. Mr. Bove said he had not assessed “the strength of the evidence,” but noted his concern that the case could interfere with the upcoming mayoral election and with whether Mr. Adams could focus on assisting Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown.
If prosecutors in Manhattan do move to drop the case, the judge, Dale E. Ho of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, may question the motion. But under legal precedent, he has limited power to refuse the request.
The federal investigations of the mayor and his inner circle have put the city on an uncertain path for more than a year. Mr. Adams has resisted calls to step down, even as numerous investigations have expanded and top city officials have resigned.
Mr. Adams was indicted on five counts of bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. Prosecutors accused him of helping fast-track the approval of a new high-rise Turkish Consulate in Manhattan, despite safety concerns, in exchange for unlawful donations and free and heavily discounted luxury travel.
Elected officials in New York on Tuesday continued to express alarm about how Mr. Adams, a Democrat who is running for re-election this year, would govern the city under pressure from Mr. Trump, who could move to bring back the charges if the mayor stepped out of line.
They questioned whether Mr. Adams could put the city’s best interests above his own during the final 10 months of his term.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked repeatedly at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday whether Mr. Adams was compromised and could be trusted to make decisions with the best interests of New Yorkers in mind.
“I truly do not know,” she said, adding that he needed to take steps to “make sure that people have confidence” in him.
If the charges are dismissed, the universe of options to try to hold Mr. Adams to some form of judicial scrutiny or discipline is limited, and the pursuit of them fairly unlikely.
Ms. Hochul has the power to remove Mr. Adams but said Tuesday she would not exercise it, because overturning the will of the voters who elected him “does not feel like something that’s very democratic.”
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn who is running for mayor against Mr. Adams, sent a letter to Judge Ho urging him to reject the dismissal and to appoint a special prosecutor to continue the case.
Mr. Myrie said the Justice Department’s directive to dismiss the charges without prejudice was a “gun to the head of the legitimate democratic governance of the city of New York.”
Democrats are deeply concerned about the impact of Mr. Trump’s agenda on the city. Mr. Trump, a Republican, has threatened to kill new congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan that support the subway, to enact mass deportations in a city that is known for welcoming immigrants and to freeze federal spending on key programs.
Mr. Adams, who has record-low approval ratings, has recently gone out of his way to curry favor with the president, visiting him in Florida last month, attending his inauguration and saying that he would not publicly criticize Mr. Trump as other members of his party have done.
Renewed calls for the mayor to resign came on Tuesday, including from Brad Lander, the city comptroller who is running for mayor.
“This is an extraordinary situation that puts New Yorkers in serious danger,” Mr. Lander said.
At least seven candidates are running in the June primary, and former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is considering entering the race in the coming weeks.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said in an interview on Tuesday that he was outraged that the order seemed to rest on political motivations, instead of on whether Mr. Adams was guilty or innocent, leaving the case hanging over the mayor’s head.
“The president is holding the city and the mayor hostage,” he said.
Mr. Sharpton said he would hold a meeting in the coming days with Black leaders, including Representative Gregory W. Meeks and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, to discuss “all options,” including whether to urge Ms. Hochul to remove Mr. Adams from office.
“We cannot be in a state of being political hostages,” he said.
Mr. Adams typically holds a news conference on Tuesdays at City Hall, the one weekly opportunity for reporters to ask him questions. Instead, he delivered the speech shortly after noon with no reporters allowed. The mayor’s office would not say if the weekly availability with reporters would be rescheduled.
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