Well, now, isn’t this interesting? Judge Dale Ho dismissed the charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nations in return for for political favors, starting back in 2014, with prejudice, thus meaning tRump’s DOJ cannot keep the possibility of re-starting the court case, by hanging it over Mayor Adam’s head, in return for help on the government’s immigration work. You folks might remember this.
Multiple people resigned when told they had to ask the judge to dismiss the case against the Mayor. “In February, Trump’s DOJ recommended the case be dropped following a meeting with the mayor’s lawyers in Washington. Then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said, “The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration.” “Bove’s letter spurred several DOJ prosecutors to resign rather than carry out his order. In her resignation letter, then-acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, wrote that during the meeting Adams’ attorneys “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.”
That pretty well lays it all out. The DOJ was in for a big surprise. They were expecting a nice, easy win so they could coerce the mayor, and now they can’t. I’m sure they will appeal, but I’m also thinking that appealing won’t do them any good. So, they’ll submit yet another emergency request to the Supreme Court (I would almost bet they are getting really tired of the DOJ’s machinations), to go their way, and be supported by the conservative judges. So, let us hear from Judge Ho.
“In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents,” the judge wrote. “It ensures that, going forward, the charges in the Indictment cannot be used as leverage over Mayor Adams or the City of New York,” the judge added. Boom! There it is, DOJ!
The judge said his decision should not be read as an opinion on the allegations against the mayor. Ho added that it’s ultimately the public’s opinion, not his, that matters. With limited options, the judge said, one that he has is to provide transparency .“Bringing these decisions into the open may, in turn, lead to attempts by the public to influence these decisions through democratic channels,” the judge wrote.
So how about “dem” apples? Damn, but it’s nice to see the Department of Justice lose big! I’ll have to ask my New York City friends if they think Adams will get voted out. The people are disgusted with him. This seems to be almost as big as what happened with Governor Cuomo during the pandemic. I am raising my coffee to Judge Ho, because he did the right thing and followed the *law*. Unfortunately, I’m waiting for the Justice Department to mount some sort of campaign against him now. I actually expect he’ll weather that storm because He. Is. Right.
*****And now, please read a very special request from our awesome boss******
Zoomers, if you have any spare change, please, we could use it. We are now entering month five of Trump Depression Syndrome, the moniker given to the phenomenon of a lot of Democrats tuning out from politics to save their sanity. I understand and respect that. I also know that somebody has to stay on the front lines, or there won’t be an army left to fight this war. So, that’s us. We could use your help. And thank you for coming here to read about all the events. Ursula
