Judge Appoints Conservative Attorney to Eric Adams Trial

Federal Judge Dale Ho vacated Mayor Eric Adams’ (D-NY) trial date of April 21 and appointed conservative judge Paul Clement to oppose the Justice Department’s (DOJ) push to drop charges. 

The Details: Ho implied that Adams’ case had not been fully deliberated, as the DOJ’s stance was in line with that of Adams’ defense attorneys. The controversies surrounding the case have resulted in the resignation of eight federal prosecutors and four deputy mayors. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove defended the DOJ, arguing that further legal proceedings would restrict the mayor’s ability to deal with New York City’s unauthorized immigration and criminal activity. Bove denied any quid pro quo between Adams and the Trump administration, as did Adams; but the Trump administration is receiving criticism from prosecutors amidst allegations that the DOJ push was politically motivated. Lead prosecutor Hagan Scotten called the administration’s plan for re-indication a “dismissal-with-leverage” tactic upon his resignation. New briefs are now due at the beginning of March. 

For Context: Adams is facing charges of “one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery… one count of wire fraud… two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals… and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.” President Donald Trump said he “[knew] nothing about” the case on February 13, though he said in December that Adams was treated unfairly and that he considered pardoning him but would need to review the case. 

How The Media Covered It: Coverage across the political spectrum was fairly similar, likely given that this is a unique case of a Republican administration backing a Democratic politician.