I blogged this morning about the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the pending federal charges against Mayor Adams. In my post, I criticized those who argued that there was a "quid pro quo" for the dismissal motion. See, e.g., this VC post by David Post. I explained that the Department's motion to dismiss did not provide any conditions on the dismissal. And I argued that there was no proof of a quid pro quo, and any such deal seemed unlikely.
In breaking news, powerful new support for my conclusion was just filed today on the docket of the criminal case. In a letter to Judge Ho, Mayor Adams's well-regarded criminal defense attorneys—Alex Spiro and William A. Burck of the well-regarded national law firm, Quinn Emanuel—have denied any quid pro quo directly. Discussing the January 31, 2025, presentation made by the defense, they state unequivocally:
At no time prior to, during, or after the meeting did we, Mayor Adams, or anyone else acting on behalf of Mayor Adams offer anything to the Department, or anyone else, in exchange for dismissal of the case. Nor did the Department, or anyone else, ever ask anything of us or the Mayor in exchange for dismissing the case. There was no quid pro quo. Period.
