Back in September, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) was indicted by the Biden Justice Department, which charged him with federal "bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses." 

"As alleged, Mayor Adams abused his position as this City’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions," including, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleged at the time, "illegal benefits from foreign nationals."

Several months before the indictment, and as Adams was facing intense heat from constituents over how the city was handling the illegal immigrant crisis, he shifted gears, going from being a staunch proponent of efforts to protect them from ICE to signaling he was open to modifying the Big Apple's sanctuary city laws, a stance some reporters called a "stunning turnaround" from his prior positions on the matter.

READ MORE: Eric Adams Does 'Stunning Turnaround' on Sanctuary City Laws As Greg Abbott's Plan Comes to Fruition

Over time, Adams became more and more openly critical of the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the border crisis, which led to a frosty relationship between him and then-President Joe Biden and, as Adams and his supporters have claimed, retaliation in the form of the DOJ case against him.

A month after the indictment - which some political observers described as "disproportionate," Adams was surprisingly pushing back on the "fascist" rhetoric against Donald Trump, saying he had also faced similar false accusations. Around the same time, Trump noted that he predicted Adams' indictment well ahead of it due to the fact that Adams had pushed back on the Biden administration, saying they should be doing more to help.

Fast forward four months, and Trump's Justice Department wants the federal charges against Adams dismissed:

"You are directed, as authorized by the Attorney General, to dismiss the pending charges in United States v. Adams…as soon as is practicable, subject to the following conditions: the defendant must agree in writing to dismissal without prejudice; the defendant must agree in writing that he is not a prevailing party under the Hyde Amendment…and the matter shall be reviewed by the confirmed U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, following the November 2025 mayoral election, based on consideration of all relevant factors," [acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil] Bove wrote in a memo. 

"The Justice Department has reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based, which are issues on which we defer to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at this time," Bove continued. 

“There shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps prior to that review, and you are further directed to take all steps within your power to cause Mayor Adams’ security clearances to be restored,” Bove also wrote.

Also, per Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin:

Additional background: @davidspunt is told DOJ feels the dismissal is necessary because the process was weaponized/"tainted" against Adams, he needs to be able to continue efforts to stop illegal immigration, there is no quid pro quo, but they believe the case hamstrung his abilities as mayor and took his focus away.

Additional background: @davidspunt is told DOJ feels the dismissal is necessary because the process was weaponized/"tainted" against Adams, he needs to be able to continue efforts to stop illegal immigration, there is no quid pro quo, but they believe the case hamstrung his…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 10, 2025

The New York Times reported that "Any motion to dismiss charges must be filed in court and reviewed by the judge overseeing the case."

The full DOJ memo can be read here or below: