By James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey

A federal judge questioned the Justice Department's acting No. 2 official Wednesday over why it chose to drop its bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said in a packed New York courtroom that the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the charges last week presented an "unusual situation" and that he wanted more information on how the decision was made.

"The questions I have today go to the issues regarding the motion to dismiss the indictment and not to the indictment itself," Ho said to Emil Bove, the acting U.S. deputy attorney general who appeared at the hearing to represent the government.

In seeking the dismissal, Justice Department officials have previously said that the case interfered with the mayor's ability to direct his full attention to President Trump's priorities of cracking down on illegal immigration and violent crime. They have also said Adams was targeted for political reasons and that the charges limited his ability to be briefed on national security and public-safety threats.

The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning it could bring them again. The judge asked Bove whether the government had a time limit on how long it would consider renewing the charges.

Bove told the judge that the Justice Department may revisit these charges, adding: "I don't have any plans for that at this time."

Ho also asked Adams if he understood the charges could be renewed. "Judge, I have not committed a crime and I don't see them bringing it back," said the mayor, who sat in the courtroom at a table between two lawyers.

The decision to drop the charges sent shock waves through New York City and the Justice Department, drawing accusations of a quid-pro-quo arrangement that gave the mayor a pass in exchange for his cooperation on immigration enforcement. The mayor has been fighting to keep his job in the fallout.

It also set off a string of resignations at the Justice Department. Several long-serving prosecutors, including the acting U.S. Manhattan attorney, quit in protest. Before stepping down, the acting U.S. attorney, Danielle Sassoon, accused the Justice Department of ignoring the merits of the case and said she was confident the mayor had committed a crime. The dismissal of the charges also gave the appearance that the Justice Department was buying Adams's cooperation, Sassoon said.

"It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams's opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment," she said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office charged Adams in September with steering illegal political donations from Turkey into his campaign war chest while accepting travel perks and free hotel stays in exchange for taking official acts. He has denied the allegations and has previously claimed he was targeted by prosecutors after criticizing former President Joe Biden's administration over its handling of the migrant crisis.

In the past week, some of Adams's political rivals and allies have called on him to resign, saying the Justice Department's directive left him beholden to Trump. Four of his deputy mayors said Monday they would step down. The departures prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to hold a series of meetings with Democratic leaders in her Manhattan office on Tuesday to discuss whether the mayor was still fit to serve. Under state law, she has the power to remove Adams from office.

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, who was among the leaders who met with the governor, said Hochul was holding off making a determination on Adams's future until after the court hearing.

Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com and Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2025 14:47 ET (19:47 GMT)

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