MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
What's going to happen to New York City Mayor Eric Adams? We still aren't sure. To recap, the Justice Department requested to throw out corruption charges filed against Adams. There was a hearing yesterday in Manhattan where the DOJ argued that the department can make decisions about criminal prosecutions in part based on President Trump's political agenda. The DOJ wants to pause the charges so Adams can help the White House crack down on migrants in the U.S. without legal status. The federal judge who presided over the hearing said he needed more time to think about this. NPR's Brian Mann was in court, and he's here with us to tell us more about it. Brian, good morning.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: Tell us more about the argument made by the Justice Department.
MANN: Yeah, so the man appearing in court for the DOJ yesterday was acting Assistant Attorney General Emil Bove. He used to be one of President Trump's personal lawyers. Yesterday, Bove argued the Trump administration wants Mayor Adams free to help pursue undocumented migrants. Bove argued that prosecuting Adams on corruption and bribery charges would hinder and burden the mayor's ability to do that. Bove said national security is at stake.
MARTIN: So let me just be clear about this. The Justice Department - or at least the argument that Bove made yesterday - wasn't saying that charges should not have been brought because Adams is innocent. The argument he made is that Adams is useful to the White House, so he shouldn't be prosecuted?
MANN: That's right. Bove has made this case repeatedly and clearly to Judge Dale Ho. The DOJ also laid out this argument in its memo requesting the case be shelved. That memo says explicitly the decision to stop this case isn't based on the merits or the evidence. The motive - and I'm reading now, Michel, from the DOJ's memo - is the concern about the impact of the prosecution on Mayor Adams' ability to support critical, ongoing federal efforts to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration. Now, at least seven DOJ attorneys have resigned rather than go along with this Justice Department decision. Three other former federal prosecutors wrote a legal brief that was discussed in the courtroom yesterday, all describing this mingling of politics and criminal law as a dangerous precedent.
MARTIN: Did the judge give any indication about how he sees all this?
MANN: Well, first, Judge Ho acknowledged he has limited authority here. A DOJ request of this kind is normally a slam dunk. It's more or less rubber-stamped by the courts. But yesterday, the judge made it clear he thinks this case really is different. This is a very complicated situation, at least from where I sit, Ho said. And so at the end of the hearing, he declined to offer a quick ruling. He says he needs more time to sort through this, but he promised a ruling soon.
MARTIN: And as we said, this all began with corruption charges against Mayor Adams. Did he have anything to say yesterday?
MANN: Adams has denied any wrongdoing in all this. He walked right past me going into the courthouse yesterday, and he sounded upbeat. This is all part of the process, he said. He says he will not resign and plans to run for a second term in this year's election. But here's the thing, Michel - Adams is still under enormous pressure. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is weighing whether to use her authority to force Adams from office. She met with civic and political leaders here in Manhattan this week after four of Adams' deputy mayors quit. So we don't know how all this is going to play out. What we do know is that this case has huge national significance, giving us an early look at how President Trump's Justice Department will operate. And this scandal could still topple the mayor of the country's biggest city.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Brian Mann in New York City. Brian, thank you.
MANN: Thank you.
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