NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption trial will begin next April, a judge ruled Friday, right in the thick of his promised reelection campaign. U.S.
District Judge Dale E. Ho set the trial date as Adams returned to Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his bid to eliminate a key charge in the indictment that threatens his political future. Ho said he’s confident the April 21, 2025, date will hold, “assuming nothing unexpected comes up.
” At the same time, prosecutors said they still haven't been able to crack a potentially crucial piece of evidence: Adams’ personal cellphone. According to his indictment, Adams changed his password just before giving the phone to authorities, then claimed he forgot it. Adams' lawyers are fighting to throw out a bribery charge, one of five counts against the first-term Democrat.
They argued the charge doesn’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently narrowed threshold for the crime and shouldn’t apply to Adams because it involves allegations dating to before he became mayor.
“The prosecutor for the United States had trouble defining what the ‘quo’ is here,” Adams’ lawyer John Bash argued, referring a “quid pro quo,” a Latin phrase meaning “something for something.” Prosecutors countered that Adams' lawyers were splitting hairs because, they allege, Adams was taking bribes and exerting influence while holding a prior elected office and as he anticipated becoming mayor. Ho said he .
