NYC NOW - Midday News: Federal Court to Review Motion to Drop Adams’ Charges, Egg Prices Fluctuate, and What to Expect at Mayor Adams’ Wednesday Federal Court Hearing

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

A federal judge will hear arguments on the Trump administration’s push to dismiss corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams, as prosecutors explain their reasoning in court. Meanwhile, egg prices in the New York area continue to fluctuate, making it tough for shoppers to find a deal. Plus, WNYC’s Samantha Max breaks down what to expect at Mayor Adams’ Wednesday federal court hearing and what it could mean for his legal future.

Welcome to NYC now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, February 19th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. Mayor Adams goes to the federal court this afternoon, several federal prosecutors, to explain to a judge why the Trump administration wants to dismiss Adams' five-count indictment. Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department said Adams traded his political influence for broad, and illegal campaign donations. Last week, the Trump administration directed federal prosecutors in New York to drop the case

so the mayor can focus on immigration enforcement and violent crime in the city. Several federal prosecutors have quit in protest. Adams has denied wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Governor Hulk was considering removing Adams from office as the mayor has resisted calls to resign. Hunting down cheap eggs in our area can feel like a full-time job right now, As WNYC's Ryan Kyloth reports, prices vary widely store to store in day-to-day. Andrew Hollis says the best way to score cheap eggs right now is to shop like a 19th century villager. Build a relationship with your egg guy.

Learn about him. Follow his movements. At Stu Leonard's and Yonkers, where he's the store director, Hollis says eggs come in on Wednesdays. At this point, it's all a timing thing for the customer. Try to catch that delivery day or a couple days after, but if you're, Waiting for the weekend to buy eggs, you might have some issues. Ironically, Hollis says his fancy organic eggs are the cheapest right now. That's because the bird flu that's behind this spike in prices is mostly wiping out flocks for the big conventional egg producers

that usually make the cheap stuff. 27 and partly sunny right now. Partly sunny today, a high near 30, but gusting winds will make it feel like the single digits. Cold tonight, cold again tomorrow as well. Stay close. There's more after the break. Mayor Adams goes back to federal court today. A federal judge says he wants to hear from prosecutors and defense attorneys about a request last week to dismiss the mayor's criminal case. Adams is heading to an April trial on charges that he accepted bribes and illegal campaign donations. He's denied any wrongdoing. WN.YC Samantha, Samantha, Samantha, Samantha, lay out for us the details leading Adams to court this afternoon.

Yeah, a lot has been happening even in just the last few days. So just a quick refresher, Adams was indicted last fall on charges that he exchanged his political power for perks like flight upgrades, lavish travel accommodations, and illegal campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing. And then last week, there was a directive that came down from the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., to federal prosecutors. here in New York City to dismiss these charges against Adams. Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Beauvais, he said that the indictment was brought too close to this year's mayoral election, which raised concerns about potential political motives. He also said the case was making it too difficult for Adams to focus on what he called illegal immigration and violent crime. acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, she responded with her own letter, defending the case, detailing her concerns about this directive, and urging the Department of Justice to reconsider.

She said Adams' attorneys had been pushing for what she called a quid pro quo, that Adams would help with immigration enforcement if the charges were dropped. Adams and his lawyer have denied this, but Sassoon and several other prosecutors, resigned in protest when the DOJ continued to press for the charges to be dropped. There were days of back and forth, and then prosecutors in D.C. agreed to submit a motion to dismiss the case on Friday evening. So all this stirred up, a bunch of controversy, and Judge Dale Ho, he's the judge presiding over this case, he issued an order that he wants everyone to discuss in the courtroom this afternoon. Sam, what can we expect in the court?

So in his order, Ho said that prosecutors and defense attorneys should be ready to talk about why they want the charges to be dropped. So I think we can expect to hear various arguments in favor of dropping the charges and maybe also some against, though the prosecutors against have mostly resigned at this point. It's not unheard of for prosecutors to decide to dismiss a case. And so Ho said in his order that these types of requests should be taken seriously. But he still has the final say, and he said in his order that his decision needs to be based on facts and be in the public interest. I spoke with a former federal prosecutor who told me that she has asked judges to toss cases in the past, but that when she did that, she had to provide concrete reasons,

like witnesses no longer being available or new evidence undermining the strength of the charges. Several legal experts I spoke with said judges typically do agree to dismiss charges when prosecutors ask them to. But this case is unconventional to say the least, so it's really hard to predict what a judge will decide. I should also note that the Justice Department so far has asked for the charges to be dropped without prejudice. That's a legal term that means the case could come back in the future. And some worry that this condition could allow the Trump administration to just kind of hold the threat of reviving the case over Adam's head. You know, Sam, as a reminder to all of us, it was Adams who volunteered that he could still carry out the duties of being mayor despite this case, despite the prosecution, and despite the charges.

You know, prosecutors and defense attorneys are now both asking the judge to dismiss this case. Is anyone against the dismissal going to be there? Yes. Unclear if they would actually be in court, but there are definitely voices speaking out against this. As I mentioned, various prosecutors resigned because they felt so strongly that these charges shouldn't be dropped. The judge has also been receiving letters from former prosecutors, urging the judge to tread cautiously. One former federal prosecutor wrote a letter calling the Justice Department's justification for dismissal bogus and is asking for a special prosecutor, like an outside attorney to be brought in to look into this case.

And then there was another group of former federal prosecutors who sent a separate letter asking the judge to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this motion to dismiss. And advocates and progressive lawmakers have been speaking out and just saying that they're concerned that the mayor be putting, he might be putting his own interests above the well-being of New Yorkers and particularly immigrants. Sam, what is Adam saying about all this? He's saying that he's innocent, that he wants to move forward with the case. His attorney, Alex Spiro, sent a letter to the judge, fervently denying any quid pro quo. He also shared this letter that had been sent to the DOJ in the days leading up to all of this that basically laid out the reasons why they wanted the charges to be dropped and essentially offering the powers that the mayor has to help with immigration enforcement.

So, you know, the Justice Department then comes just a few days later. So it's all just information that's coming out bit by bit. And I think that today in court will really get a better understanding of where the mayor stands on all of this. And Sam, you're going to be in court, right? That is my plan, yes. Samantha Max covers the courts and public safety for WNMIC. You can read her reporting on the mayor's criminal case on our news site, Gotham. As always, thank you.

Thanks, Michael. for listening to NYC now. More on the mayor's hearing this evening. NYC now.