An attorney for New York Mayor Eric Adams has contacted Justice Department leadership with a plea to drop the case against him, and officials in Washington have discussed the request with prosecutors in New York, two people briefed on the matter confirmed to NBC News.
The outreach from Adams' lawyer is not unusual for a high-profile defendant like Adams, hoping for a fresh look at a case from a new administration’s Justice Department. There is no indication, however, that federal prosecutors in Manhattan are going to drop the case, a person familiar with the matter said.
The office of the acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove is involved in the discussions with the Southern District of New York and Adams’ team about the pending case, a Justice Department official told NBC News.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined comment.
The New York Times first reported on discussions about dropping the case against Adams.
Adams pleaded not guilty after he was indicted in September on federal corruption and bribery charges.
Prosecutors allege that Adams received plane fare and luxury hotel stays worth more than $100,000 from wealthy Turkish nationals and at least one government official in a yearslong corruption scheme that began after Adams became the Brooklyn borough president in 2014. He was charged with five criminal counts that include bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
Federal prosecutors said in a filing this month that they have continued to uncover "additional criminal conduct" by Adams and have identified others involved, and they previously indicated that additional charges were possible. Adams has criticized the investigation and maintained after the recent filing that he has "done nothing wrong."
His trial is scheduled for April.
Adams met with Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, days before Trump was inaugurated as president and said they discussed a number of topics but "did not discuss my legal case." He later attended Trump's inauguration.
Trump suggested on Dec. 16 that he would consider pardoning Adams, saying that "he was treated pretty unfairly” and that he would need to see the case, "because I don’t know the facts.”
