New York Mayor Eric Adams thanked the Justice Department for ordering the federal corruption charges against him be dropped but admitted "many New Yorkers still question my character."
"I thank the Justice Department for its honesty. Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city. It’s time to move forward," Adams said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.
Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop five criminal counts, including bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, from Adams' case Monday night.
“My fellow New Yorkers, as you may have heard, the Department of Justice has directed that the case against me be dismissed, finally, ending a monthslong saga that put me, my family and this city through an unnecessary ordeal," Adams said.
Adams, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, pleaded not guilty in September.
"As I said from the outset, I never broke the law, and I never would. I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor," he said Tuesday.
Adams said he is "no longer facing legal questions," but the Justice Department order said the dismissal of his case would be without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled.
Adams said he understands "many New Yorkers still question my character, and I know that I must continue to regain your trust."
He told New Yorkers to look beneath "all the shocking headlines full of rumors and accusations, all the innuendos and insinuations," to see that "the real news is that the women and men of my administration have delivered for the broken people of New York."
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, of Brooklyn, who is running against Adams in the coming mayoral election, told reporters Tuesday that the dismissal is "a dangerous degradation of the independence of our prosecutor's office and of our courts."
"Eric Adams no longer works for New Yorkers. He works for Donald Trump, period," Myrie said, adding that he has sent a letter asking the court to reject any motion to dismiss the charges.
“New Yorkers have no mayor right now, no leader right now; we have someone that is waking up every single day, not to fight for our teachers, not to fight to keep our hospitals open, not to fight for funding for our schools, but to fight for his own liberty, to save his own skin. We are compromised, and the court has the ability to recognize this," Myrie said.
Speculation arose last month that Adams was seeking a pardon from the charges after he met with President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Trump told reporters after the meeting that he would consider pardoning Adams, saying: "Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly."
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said Tuesday afternoon that despite not believing Adams is guilty, he has “serious concerns" about the dismissal.
“No. 1, I do think that Mayor Adams, you know, I believe him when he said he didn’t do anything wrong, but you can’t interfere with the justice system,” Meeks said in an interview on MSNBC.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview Tuesday morning on MSNBC that he didn't think the charges were strong enough to warrant an indictment, arguing that it might be a positive that the Justice Department is looking to drop the case.
"I actually think the charges were not strong enough," de Blasio said. "They were affecting the democratic process in New York City. We have a Democrat primary for mayor in just over four months. This needed to be resolved."
De Blasio said that Adams still has "some explaining to do" but that with the dismissal of the charges, "he has a chance to actually show people what he’s going to do for the city and make his case."
