A former prosecutor involved in the Watergate scandal has requested that a federal judge handling the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams appoint a special counsel to evaluate the Justice Department’s recent proposal to dismiss the charges against him. In a letter submitted to Judge Dale E. Ho in a Manhattan federal court, attorney Nathaniel Akerman expressed his concern that there is no representative advocating for the public’s interest in this matter following a request made by three Justice Department attorneys on Friday.
Akerman urged the judge to deny the dismissal motion, suggesting that the court should investigate how the Justice Department arrived at its decision. He also proposed that Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who initiated the recommendation to drop the charges, should be required to testify in court to clarify his rationale.
Furthermore, he suggested that the judge might consider appointing an independent special prosecutor to pursue the case, granting them access to relevant grand jury materials and other evidence. Akerman’s comments were made while representing Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization focused on promoting integrity within U.S. elections.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to accusations that during his time as the Brooklyn borough president, he accepted over $100,000 in illegal campaign donations alongside luxurious travel benefits from a Turkish official and business figures looking to gain his influence.
Akerman’s appeal came in the wake of a notable public dispute between Bove and two prominent federal prosecutors in New York, including interim Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and assistant U.S. attorney Hagan Scotten, who was in charge of the prosecution against Adams. Sassoon resigned on Thursday, followed by the departure of five other senior Justice Department officials. Scotten later resigned as well, citing that Sassoon had effectively resisted demands to dismiss the charges while acknowledging the possibility of reinstating them after the upcoming election.
He emphasized in his letter that allowing the government to use the threat of reintroducing charges as leverage over an elected official’s decisions poses a significant danger to the principles of ordered liberty.
In light of the ongoing pressure, Adams confirmed on Monday that several of his senior aides had stepped down, responding to the Justice Department’s attempt to terminate the corruption investigation against him while attempting to secure his cooperation with Trump’s immigration policies.
In his correspondence to Judge Ho, Akerman echoed Sassoon’s claims that the Justice Department might have succumbed to a “quid pro quo” submitted by Adams’ legal team, aligning his endorsement of immigration enforcement with the dismissal of the case. He remarked that this action sets a concerning and dangerous precedent.
Akerman asserted that compelling evidence from internal Justice Department documents indicates that the decision to dismiss the indictment against Adams does not serve the public’s interest and is likely part of a corrupt arrangement between Mayor Adams and the Trump administration regarding immigration enforcement.
On Thursday, Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro rejected the accusations of a quid pro quo as a “total lie.” Bove explained that directing the charges to be dropped was motivated by the need for the mayor of New York City to assist in the Trump administration’s immigration strategy, suggesting that dismissal would allow Adams to campaign for reelection without the burden of criminal charges.
