New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives to federal court for a corruption charges dismissal hearing.John Lamparski/Sipa/AP

On Wednesday afternoon, New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrived at a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan for what may be the last hearing in his criminal case. US District Judge Dale Ho heard arguments from Adams’ lawyer and deputy US attorney Emil Bove over the Department of Justice’s request that the bribery and fraud charges against Adam be dismissed. The extraordinary development in Adams’ legal case led to the resignations of seven federal prosecutors and escalating calls for the mayor to resign or be removed from office.

Characteristically defiant, Adams seemed unperturbed as he strode into the wood-panelled courtroom. Ho had set the last-minute hearing just yesterday. Bove, the second highest-ranking official in Trump’s Department of Justice, had traveled to New York City to personally defend the motion. Ho, who was nominated to the bench by former President Joe Biden in 2023, acknowledged that his authority to deny the request was narrow and told the parties that he wanted to “proceed carefully.”

After being indicted on charges stemming in part from illegal campaign........

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