A senior official at the US Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has cultivated a warm relationship with President Donald Trump.
In a two-page memorandum obtained by the Associated Press news agency, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said the decision to dismiss the charges was made without an assessment of the prosecution's evidence and was not intended to cast doubt on the lawyers who brought the case.
But, Mr. Bove said, the timing of the charges and "recent actions" by the former U.S. attorney who headed the New York office, Damian Williams, "have threatened the integrity of the proceedings, including increasing prejudicial publicity that risks influencing potential witnesses and jurors."
Mr. Bove also wrote that the pending criminal prosecution has "unfairly limited" Mr. Adams' ability to "devote his full attention and capabilities to the fight against illegal immigration and violent crime that has escalated due to the policies of the previous administration."
The Justice Department's order directs that the case be dismissed without prejudice, which could mean it could be brought back later.
The memorandum is a radical departure from old Justice Department norms, both in terms of the directive to dismiss an already filed case that prosecutors had already deemed meritorious and because of its stated rationale that a powerful defendant may be too busy with official duties to face responsibility for the alleged crimes.
A spokesman for prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, which had obtained the order to drop the charges, Nicholas Biase, declined to comment.
The announcement follows months of speculation that the Trump administration's Justice Department would take steps to drop the criminal case against Mr. Adams, who was accused of accepting bribes and illegally using financial contributions for his campaign for mayor of New York./VOA (A2 Televizion)
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