A judge has denied New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s request to dismiss the bribery charge he faces.
In a 30-page ruling Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said Adams’s argument that the government’s allegations in his case did not meet the legal standard for bribery.
Ho determined it was not necessary to dismiss the more serious of the five charges against the mayor.
Shortly after the indictment was released against Adams, his attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that prosecutors failed to prove Adams took bribes and called the charge “extremely vague” and called for it to be dismissed.
Adams has been accused of accepting “improper valuable benefits” over a decade from wealthy businesspeople and at least one official from the Turkish government.
The mayor also faces charges of wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to all counts. Spiro argued that prosecutors failed to prove Adams took bribes when he allegedly pressured the fire department to open a Turkish building without a safety inspection.
In the ruling Tuesday, Ho argued that it is a matter for a jury to resolve.
In a statement to Politico, Spiro said the prosecutions case is “so contrived” that it took several months for the court to get back to them about the dismissed charge. Spiro filed the dismissal request in late September.
President-elect Trump said Monday he would consider a presidential pardon for Adams.
During a press conference, Trump was asked if he would look at pardoning Adams. The president-elect said he would take a look because he thought Adams was “treated pretty unfairly.”
