Alina Habba Claims Eric Adams Was Charged Because of Immigration Policies

President Donald Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, said that New York City Mayor Eric Adams was "prosecuted because he was anti-sanctuary city policies," following criticism that his bribery charges were dropped in exchange for helping with the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown.

Newsweek reached out to Adams' office via email and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where Adams' case was filed, via phone for comment.

Why It Matters

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to drop bribery charges that were filed against Adams in September 2024, citing concerns that the ongoing case was "unduly restricting" the Democratic mayor's ability to focus on critical issues like illegal immigration and violent crime and that the charges were brought too close to this year's mayoral election.

The DOJ made clear that the dismissal was not based on the strength of evidence in the case.

Some criticized the move to dismiss Adams' charges as a quid pro quo. Adams, the DOJ and Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, have denied those allegations. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon and several other DOJ officials decided to resign rather than comply with the DOJ's order.

Habba, who now serves as counselor to the president, became one of Trump's most recognizable lawyers following her work on the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization and the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. She has been an outspoken critic of the New York judicial system.

What To Know

During an interview with Habba on Fox & Friends Monday morning, host Kayleigh McEnany, who served as White House press secretary during Trump's first term, said that Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, called Adams a "political pawn" for the Trump administration.

Habba responded: "The only political pawns that exist in the state of New York are the DAs and AGs that are literally interfering in what the president has ordered."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought on Trump's civil fraud trial, has been challenging multiple orders from the Trump administration.

Habba said Adams "was prosecuted because he was anti-sanctuary city policies. He wanted New York to be safe. He said, 'I'm going to protect the people of New York. That is the job I was given.' And then all of a sudden, wow, he's prosecuted under charges and gone after."

She sarcastically added: "I can't imagine who else that's happened to."

"Now he comes in, and he says, 'I'm going to cooperate and do exactly what I've been saying I wanted to do for months before they prosecuted me and persecuted me. And I'm gonna help clean up the city of New York,' which is a disaster as we know," Habba said.

Details About Eric Adams Case

Adams was indicted last September on charges of bribery, fraud and illegal solicitation of campaign contributions, dating to his days as Brooklyn Borough president, a position he was elected to in 2014.

He was accused of accepting more than $100,000 in luxury travel gifts and campaign contributions from foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish official, as well as pressuring the New York City Fire Department to open a consulate in New York without a fire inspection. Adams has denied all allegations.

What Has Eric Adams Said About Immigration?

Adams and Homan appeared together on Fox & Friends last Friday to discuss their plans to collaborate on immigration enforcement. During the discussion, Adams reiterated his support for going after "dangerous people" on the streets of New York, which he said he's been talking about since 2022.

On Thursday, Adams announced that he would issue an executive order allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into the Rikers Island jail complex to help in criminal investigations "in particular those focused on violent criminals and gangs."

The move came after a meeting between Adams and Homan, but the mayor's office previously pointed Newsweek to multiple occasions before the DOJ moved to drop the case and before Trump even took office when Adams expressed his openness to sending ICE agents back to Rikers Island after they were banned from the jail complex in 2014 due to sanctuary laws. Sanctuary laws restrict local police from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

During an interview on Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Homan said he and Adams met eight or nine weeks ago and discussed getting ICE agents in Rikers Island and collaborating on public safety issues.

What People Are Saying

Independent journalist Aaron Rupar, on X: "Alina Habba on Eric Adams: 'Let's not forget something -- this man was prosecuted because he was anti-sanctuary city policies.' (This is a lie.)"

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in a statement on Friday: "I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered—nor did anyone offer on my behalf—any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never.

"I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first. Now, we must put this difficult episode behind us so that trust can be restored, New York can move forward, and we can continue delivering for the people of this city," he added.

Former acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon said in her resignation letter sent last Wednesday that at a meeting in late January—attended by Manhattan federal prosecutors, DOJ lawyers and Adams' lawyers, per The New York Times—the mayor's attorneys offered "what amounted to a quid pro quo."

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote in a footnote in the DOJ's order to dismiss Adams' charges issued last Monday that he said at the meeting that "the government is not offering to exchange dismissal of a criminal case for Adams' assistance on immigration enforcement."

Border Czar Tom Homan said on CNN's State of the Union last Sunday, "That's ridiculous," when host Dana Bash asked him, "It sounds like the DOJ dropped the case against Adams, and in exchange, he let you into Rikers. Is that what happened?"

"I really don't think it had anything to do with whatever is going on at the Justice Department. We never talked about that. It's kind of out of my lane," Homan added.

What Happens Next

Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, that federal prosecutor Ed Sullivan agreed to dismiss the charges against Adams to spare his colleagues from potentially being fired for refusing to obey the DOJ's order.

Despite his legal troubles, Adams is running for reelection this year.

Last Thursday, he told NBC New York that he "100 percent" will be seeking the Democratic nomination, rather than the Republican nomination, in the June primary, following speculation that he may change parties following the Trump administration's move to dismiss his charges.