Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Jasmine Crockett (Texas), both members of the House Judiciary Committee, have launched a probe into the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s moves to drop federal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams (D).
The lawmakers wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday, accusing the DOJ of trying to cover up a quid pro quo in which the charges against Adams would be dropped in return for his assistance to the Trump administration in implementing its immigration policies.
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“Not only did the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempt to pressure career prosecutors into carrying out this illegal quid pro quo, it appears that Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was personally engaged in a cover-up by destroying evidence and retaliating against career prosecutors who refused to follow his illegal and unethical orders,” the two members wrote in the letter.
“We write to demand that you immediately put an end to the cover-up and retaliation and provide documents and information about these disturbing accounts to Congress,” they said.
Raskin and Crockett described efforts to rescue Adams as “a blatant and illegal quid pro quo to secure the Mayor’s loyal assistance in executing the Trump Administration’s mass arrest and deportation policies.”
Several DOJ officials recently resigned from their posts after receiving a directive to drop federal corruption charges against Adams.
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Adams was slated to stand trial in April on charges of bribery, wire fraud and soliciting illegal campaign contributions, but a federal judge overseeing the criminal case indefinitely delayed the trial as he considers the effort by the DOJ to drop the charges.
On Feb. 10, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent out a memo ordering prosecutors to ice their case against Adams, citing integrity issues and an interference with his ability to serve as mayor.
According to Brove, the department “reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.” He denied that his move was part of a “quid pro quo” arrangement.
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Following Trump’s election win, Adams appeared unusually friendly with the new administration for a member of the opposing party, jointly working with the president’s “border czar” Tom Homan to implement immigration policies.
In January, before Trump was sworn in, Adams visited with him at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, before later attending his inauguration in Washington.
