NYC Mayor kisses Trump’s Ring to get his Federal Criminal Case Dropped….

In a memo sent to prosecutors Monday evening, the Justice Department’s acting No. 2 official, Emil Bove, ordered the government to restore Mr. Adams’s security clearance, and accused the former Manhattan federal prosecutor who charged Mr. Adams of having done so for political reasons, though he offered no evidence.

Mr. Bove wrote that the department wanted to drop the charges because the case had been inappropriately timed — an unusual reason to seek dismissal — and not because of questions about the merits of the case or about the mayor’s guilt or innocence. Mr. Bove, a former prosecutor in the same office that is prosecuting the mayor, said there was to be “no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps” until after the November mayoral election, when the case would be re-evaluated.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Mr. Adams, said in a statement: “I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent — and he would prevail. Today he has.”

Here’s what else to know:

• An extraordinary reversal: Just weeks ago, the same Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office said it had uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by Mr. Adams. It was unclear how Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney currently leading the office, would respond to Monday’s request.

• Mayoral election: Mr. Adams’s re-election chances may receive a boost, but recent surveys have suggested he was favored by less than 10 percent of respondents. More than a half-dozen other candidates have entered the Democratic primary race.

• Rivals respond: Other candidates for mayor seized on the news. State Senator Jessica Ramos said Mr. Adams had “sold out New Yorkers to buy his own freedom,” while State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani said Mr. Adams had “narrowed the focus of city government to a singular goal: keeping himself out of prison.” Brad Lander, the city comptroller, said: “Instead of standing up for New Yorkers, Adams is standing up for precisely one person.” State Senator Zellnor Myrie said the news “makes it clear that justice is dead in America.”

• The case: Mr. Adams had been indicted on five counts of bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The case accuses him of helping fast-track the approval of a new Turkish Consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns, in exchange for unlawful donations and free and heavily discounted luxury travel. Prosecutors sought records relating to his dealings with five other countries and suggested that the case could have expanded.

• Trump’s involvement: Mr. Trump had said that he would consider pardoning Mr. Adams because he believed the case against him was politically motivated. That echoed language the president used about his own criminal conviction in New York last year, in state court, on 34 felony counts.

• Judicial independence: The intervention by Mr. Trump’s Justice Department has rattled veteran prosecutors in the Manhattan office, which has traditionally been known for its relative independence from Washington. The dismissal request seems primed to raise questions about the office’s ability to pursue criminal cases without political interference….

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