Laffy
🧵Via Klasfeld:
Good afternoon from New York.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams is in court — and so is Trump's defense attorney turned Acting Deputy AG Emil Bove — in order to try to persuade a federal judge to dismiss the corruption case.
Judge Ho begins by acknowledging:
"A court has very little discretion here. I'm well aware of that, and the government, in the words of the 2nd Circuit, is the first and best judge as to whether a case should be terminated."
But he adds, the court has some role.
M.S. Bellows, Jr.
@GottaLaff I wish to hell Judge Ho would issue a tentative ruling allowing the dismissal but only if it is with prejudice, because the dismissal without prejudice is not in the public interest given the perception of a quid pro quo. That seems like a sustainable ruling, and would put DOJ in a real spot.
Laffy
24/ 🤦🏻♀️Harry Litman:
Hearing finished. Judge Ho says he will rule soon but not now. Expect a written opinion expressing some incredulity and distress at DOJ position but then permitting the dismissal without prejudice.
Klasfeld:
Ho: "I’m going to take everything you said under careful consideration. It’s not in anyone’s interest here for this to drag on. I understand that..
"To exercise my discretion properly, I’m not going to shoot from the hip here on the bench."
END
Laffy
23/ Klasfeld:
Note:
Judge Ho still hasn't ruled on whether to hear from amici (friends-of-the-court), to provide an adversarial perspective on dismissal.
The government and the defense object to the Dunne and Pomerantz motion.
Laffy
22/ Spiro: The letter that leaked had false information about the Mayor. We are being actively harmed by this ongoing process. There is no reason to carry on here, every instant harms democracy.
Klasfeld:
Emil Bove takes a swing at attorneys Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, who criminally investigated Trump before filing a proposed amicus brief urging Judge Ho to block dismissal.
“That’s just partisan noise,” Bove says.
Laffy
21/ Via Harry Litman:
Bove tells Judge Ho that the judge can't consider contents of his (nasty blistering Feb 13) letter to acting US Attorney Danielle Sassoon
Laffy
20/ Spiro: Non parties are fraught with peril
Via Adam Klasfeld:
During the hearing, Trump's Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove denies a quid pro quo with Adams, but says he doesn't think Judge Ho has discretion not to dismiss the case even if there was a quid pro quo.
Laffy
19/ Inner City Press:
Ho: Adversarial testing of a position can be of benefit - but that may not be needed here. I'd like to hear you on this
Bove: You have created clear record today, by putting Mayor Adams under oath. There is no quid pro quo. Even if there was, it's be fine. The former US Attys, it was authored by Carey Dunne & Mark Pomerantz, they worked on case against Pres Trump, it comes from a position of bias. It's just partisan noise, it should not be accepted.
Laffy
18/ Judge Ho presses the mayor's attorneys Alex Spiro and William Burck about what they were referring to in the final lines of this letter.
"I don't know what I'm responding to when someone says something false enough times."
Spiro adds later: "I'm ready to raise my right hand right now."
Judge Ho does not prompt Spiro to make a sworn statement denying a quid pro quo right now — and moves on to other topics.
Laffy
17/
Judge Ho: May I consider your Feb 10 memo?
Bove: No. I am an officer of the court, I am here in good faith. That's the end of the inquiry. I'm entitled to a presumption about that. Consider the Armstrong case. The amicus briefs just speculate
Laffy
16/ Judge Ho: Let me ask about your submissions. ECF 130-1, responding to requests to put in amicus briefs. At ECF 128, former US Attorneys - this is a question for Mr. Bove, your Feb 10 memo
Bove: I sent it to Ms. Sassoon. I object to the amicus brief.
Judge Ho: May I consider your Feb 10 memo?
Laffy
15/ Judge Ho: Could this apply to the governor of a border state, for example?
Bove: Yes.
Judge Ho: The other rationale, it would apply to a candidate that is not a public official?
Bove: This is case specific The trial was set to begin two months before the primary election.
Judge Ho: Thank you Mr. Bove. Mr. Spiro, I want to asking about documents.
Spiro: First, the security clearance was revoked because of the indictment, I was there.
Laffy
14/ Judge Ho asks Bove whether he knows any "other examples" of his rationale being used "when the defendant is a public official."
Instead of a public official, Bove names Viktor Bout—an analogy that troubled ex-U.S. Attorney Sassoon.
Laffy
13/ Judge Ho: Is Adams in the process of re-obtaining his security clearance, or does it hinge upon the resolution of this motion?
Alex Spiro said it hinges on the resolution of the motion...
... then Bove immediately contradicted that, saying it's a discretion of executive power.
Laffy
12/ Judge Ho asks whether the provision about Mayor Adams being "denied access to sensitive information" refers to his security clearance.
Bove says yes.
Judge Ho: "Is the fact of an indictment a basis for losing a security clearance, or is it something more specific than that about the nature" of the allegations?
Bove: I can't speak to that.
Laffy
11/ Klasfeld:
Judge Ho says he has a "few questions" about the contours of Bove's claim about "appearances of impropriety": Is he saying that it was "actually motivated by improper" motivations?
Bove says the appearance of impropriety is sufficient for the motion.
Harry Litman:
Bove and Biondi have repeatedly alleged that the Adams prosecution was an example of weaponized and political prosecutions -- a deeply insulting charge. so now he's backing away from that in court.
Laffy
10/ Bove alludes to the part of the dismissal motion asserting "appearances of impropriety," and then says this:
"I think it goes further than that: It is an abuse of the criminal process."
Bove asserts that the government's discretion here is "virtually unreviewable in this courtroom."
Laffy
9/ Asked whether anyone threatened or induced him to consent to the motion, Adams says no.
Laffy
8/ Judge Ho: Are there any other agreements, beyond what's before me?
Adams: No, Your Honor.
Ho: I'm going to review this transcript to make sure I've asked all the questions
[Note, to Gov Hochul etc - it does not appear Ho will be ruling today]
Ho: Mr. Bove, does the Government have other reasons for this motion?
Bove: I do, but we're not asking the government to rely on anything beyond this.
Ho: What are the bases of the motion?
Bove: Prosecutorial discretion, against weaponization of law
Laffy
7/ Judge Ho presses Adams: Nobody told him that the government cannot or will not prosecute him again.
Adams agrees nobody told him that.
Laffy
6/ LOL! Oy.
Via Klasfeld:
Mayor Adams: "I have not committed a crime. I don’t see them bringing it back. I’m not afraid of that."
Judge Ho: Consult your attorney.
Adams: I failed my law class [laughs]
Laffy
5/ Klasfeld:
Judge Ho: Is there currently any anticipated time frame in which the govt would make such a determination? ...
Bove: There is not judge.
Laffy
4/ Via Inner City Press:
Adams: It was explained to me.
Judge Ho: Mr. Bove, it is right that the Mayor has consented to dismissal without prejudice?
Bove: Yes.
Judge Ho: Can these charges be brought again?
Bove: They could be, in the Department's discretion.
Laffy
3/ Via Harry Litman:
First part of hearing is Judge questioning Adams to be sure that Adams agrees to the dismissal without prejudice and that it’s a knowing and voluntary decision.
Laffy
2/ Bove is alone at the table.
Via nycsouthpaw:
Let’s not forget this is an unprecedented humiliation for a high ranking DOJ official.
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