An attorney for New York City Mayor Eric Adams has reached out to the Department of Justice seeking to have the case against the mayor dropped, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The office of Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has been involved in discussions with the Southern District of New York and Adams' team about the pending case, a Justice Department official told NBC News.
A plea to drop the case was first reported by the New York Times, which noted it is not unusual nor particularly surprising that a high-profile defendant such as Adams, with equally high-profile counsel, would reach out to a new administration's DOJ to ask for a fresh look at their case.
As of Wednesday evening, there was no indication federal prosecutors in Manhattan, nor the DOJ, were considering dropping the case, one person familiar with the matter says. Prosecutors recently told a judge they had developed new evidence against the mayor and informed the court they were likely to bring more charges against Adams.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment.
Adams' attorney, Alex Spiro, is one of a fleet of lawyers that represent Elon Musk, who has maintained a close relationship with President Donald Trump since his election campaign over the summer.
Adams visited President Trump in Florida on Jan. 17, and was offered a last-minute invitation to the inauguration in Washington D.C. on Jan. 20, coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The mayor has brushed off questions that his criminal case — or the possibility of a presidential pardon if he is convicted — came up during the sit-down near Trump's estate, saying the case is something his legal team is handling.
Adams is scheduled to go on trial in April on charges that he accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in exchange for political favors, including helping the Turkish officials resolve city approvals for a diplomatic building in Manhattan.
Mayor Eric Adams is scaling back events, saying it's because of health reasons. However, the mayor's office insisted that city business will continue as usual for the week. NBC New York's Andrew Siff reports.
The mayor has been on temporary sick leave since Monday for what his office has called routine medical tests, saying Adams was not "feeling his best." There had been rumors since Tuesday that he was about to plead guilty or even resign, but Spiro said Wednesday "sorry, he's not resigning," and added the mayor has nothing to plead guilty for.
"He's innocent, as I've said since the beginning," said Spiro outside court after a brief, closed-door hearing.
Adams did not attend the hearing. Spiro did not disclose whether any talks with prosecutors were underway.
Some New Yorkers have expressed concern about what Adams might owe Trump if he were to get a pass on his charges.
"I think that a lot of people are concerned that the president — who is very unpopular in many parts of the city, over 70% of the city voted against him — would try to compromise the mayor and in ways that are not beneficial to the city. Such as how he's dealing with migrants, such as how he's dealing with DEI," said Rev. Al Sharpton. "My concern is that he not be compromised, and that this president not try to do a trade on it. Now I'm not saying that the mayor is in any way leaning that way, but I'm saying he would have to make very clear what was the basis of it."
Adams will make his first public appearance of the week Thursday morning at an interfaith breakfast event.
NBC News' Ryan Reilly contributed to this report.
