Democrats are making their anger known after the Justice Department dismissed corruption charges against Democratic New York mayor Eric Adams, in what critics are calling a "quid pro quo" to help the Trump administration.
Adams was indicted under the Biden administration for allegedly accepting foreign bribes. The DOJ moved to drop the case last week, sparking backlash from Democrats nationwide and local career prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
Some have argued Adams was originally charged for political reasons - namely, his criticism of the Biden administration's immigration policy, which led to an influx of illegal aliens that overwhelmed New York City.
The DOJ's decision to drop charges led to the resignation of multiple prosecutors, including the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Democrats have alleged that Adams reached an arrangement to clear himself of legal jeopardy and that this supposed deal violates norms of impartial justice.
New York congressman Dan Goldman, who repeatedly defended Hunter Biden even after he received a 10-year retroactive pardon from his father, called the DOJ's dismissal of the Adams case troubling.
“It is an outright extortion,” he said. “This is way, way, way outside the bounds of the Department of Justice.”
Of course, the DOJ has taken a very different position. The Department's No.2 official, Emil Bove, said the charges against Adams were an example of "weaponization" that improperly interfered with New York's 2025 mayoral election and the Justice Department's goals of fighting violent crime and illegal immigration.
Attorney general Pam Bondi said the DOJ's move shows the Department "will return to its core function of prosecuting dangerous criminals, not pursuing politically motivated witch hunts."
Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke echoed the DOJ's argument, saying there is nothing untoward about the Department pursuing its policy goals.
“Obviously, the Trump administration looked at it and said, ‘You know what? What’s more important right now is getting New York back to safety and getting the illegal immigration problem out of New York,'” Zinke told NewsNation's The Hill Sunday.
Trump said he knows nothing about the case when asked about it on Friday.
"They were all going to be gone or dismissed … because what you do is you come in and you put new people in," he said of the prosecutors who resigned.
“So when you say resigned, they were gonna be gone anyway,” Trump continued. “But I know nothing about the individual case. I know that they didn’t feel it was much of a case. They also felt that it was unfair with the election.”
