Trump DOJ ignores court order to make public documents in Adams corruption case
The US Department of Justice defied a court order to unseal documents in Mayor Eric Adams’ historic corruption case on Friday — withholding records that would have given the public an inside look at the prosecution that will never see the inside of a courtroom.
The court filings were expected to be unveiled before 11:59 p.m. Friday after The Post and other outlets demanded access to the cache of evidence and documents, including a warrant for Hizzoner’s cellphone that was seized by agents on a New York street.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho granted the release of documents last week based on the public interest of the upcoming election for mayor, with no objection from the DOJ or Adams’ camp.
The federal criminal case against Adams was dismissed for good in early April by a judge who said it would ensure the prosecution couldn’t be held over the mayor’s head by the Trump administration as he runs the city.
Ho’s ruling broke with the Department of Justice, which sought to halt the case for the time being, but wanted to keep the ability to resurrect it in the future.
“Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” Ho wrote in the 78-page ruling.
Adams had faced a five-count indictment, including bribery and fraud, accusing him of pocketing more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from people seeking to buy influence with him, including a Turkish official.
Prosecutors said they had also been preparing an expanded indictment charging Adams with lying to the FBI and destroying evidence before the DOJ offered its stunning reprieve.
Adams has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Ho, in tossing the case, didn’t address the merits of the feds’ evidence — which had remained under wraps pending the anticipated trial.
The judge approved the release of the sealed documents last week after motions from The Post and the New York Times, along with other third parties.
The dismissal of his case sparked a political firestorm for Adams as Democrats accused him of cutting a deal with President Trump in exchange for helping with the federal government’s immigration crackdown, leading to a mass exodus of his deputy mayors.
Adams’ ally in the statehouse, Gov. Kathy Hochul, even publicly kept the door open to boot him from office in the wake of the controversial dismissal request from then-Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
Bove argued the case needed to go away so Adams could properly assist with Trump’s immigration plans, not because of a lack of evidence.
The filing led to a series of resignations from inside the DOJ’s DC office and in the Southern District of New York, including the interim head of the prestigious office, Danielle Sassoon, who had also alleged a quid pro quo in the dismissal.
Ho tossed the case about six weeks later.
The political fallout forced Adams not to seek the Democratic nomination of his party in his re-election bid, but instead opt to run in the November general election as an independent.
Adams had been cozying up to the incoming president in the months after his September 2024 indictment.
In February, he promised to reopen ICE offices on Rikers Island after a closed-door meeting with border czar Tom Homan.
Adams fulfilled that vow last month, but the plans have been put on hold with the City Council suing to stop the executive order, which was oddly signed by First Deputy Randy Mastro.
