A federal judge on Friday did not immediately sign off on the U.S. Department of Justice’s bid to abandon federal corruption charges brought against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and instead appointed an outside attorney to present independent arguments on the government’s motion to dismiss.

U.S. District Court Judge Dale Ho wrote that “to assist with its decision-making via an adversarial process” he is appointing Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under President George Bush who has argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, to weigh in on the case.

Clement’s appointment to assist the court’s decision-making is appropriate “particularly… in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation,” wrote Ho.

Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law, wrote on Bluesky that Ho had done “the right thing,” and a Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School,

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