Judge rejects Mayor Adams’ request for probe into alleged press leaks in federal corruption case

Mayor Adams suffered a setback successful his national corruption case precocious Thursday arsenic a justice rejected his petition for a ceremonial enquiry into claims that national authorities person leaked confidential information to the property astir his prosecution.

In a 21-page decision, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Dale Ho ruled Adams’ lawyers didn’t laic retired convincing capable of a lawsuit that the root of definite media reports astir his lawsuit could lone person been the prosecutors who indicted him oregon FBI officials.

“The Court takes earnestly Mayor Adams’s allegations, but yet concludes that helium has failed to marque a prima facie showing that the Government was the root of these disclosures,” Ho wrote, referring to a ineligible modular that had to beryllium met for the mayor’s petition to beryllium granted.

Ho reasoned that the quality reports successful question, astir of them published by the New York Times, could person been based connected accusation provided by assorted individuals extracurricular of the FBI and the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Adams.

“Mayor Adams has failed to amusement that Government attorneys oregon their agents, arsenic opposed to different individuals, were the root of accusation successful the articles,” helium wrote.

Ho’s ruling came aft Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, argued successful a filing past period that lone the U.S. attorney’s bureau oregon its agents could beryllium the root of what helium described arsenic classified expansive assemblage worldly astir the mayor’s lawsuit reported by assorted media outlets, including the Daily News. The reports helium cited arsenic grounds included those predicting the timing of the Sept. 26 unsealing of Adams’ indictment.

To that end, Spiro asked Ho to schedule an evidentiary hearing into those allegations and slap prosecutors with sanctions, perchance arsenic terrible arsenic dismissal of the mayor’s five-count indictment.

Though helium rejected the demands for sanctions and an evidentiary hearing, Ho suggested helium could beryllium unfastened to revisiting the contented astatine immoderate point, writing: “In immoderate event, the Court request not resoluteness these issues today.”

Spiro, a personage lawyer retained by Adams successful precocious September to correspond him successful the corruption case, declined to instantly remark Friday via a spokeswoman.

Ho’s ruling came hours earlier Adams was expected to look successful Manhattan Federal Court for a Friday day proceeding connected a abstracted question filed by Spiro seeking the dismissal of the bribery number of his indictment.

Spiro has claimed prosecutors failed to conscionable the ineligible modular for that complaint and that Ho should truthful propulsion it out.

Adams, the archetypal sitting New York City politician successful modern past to beryllium nether transgression indictment, is facing charges alleging helium solicited and accepted bribes and amerciable run contributions from Turkish authorities operatives and others successful speech for governmental favors.

The bribes came successful the signifier of luxury question benefits and different perks that Adams is accused of accepting successful speech for helping Turkish authorities officials with definite issues, similar pressuring the FDNY to resoluteness gathering information violations astatine the country’s Manhattan consulate, his indictment claims.

Adams has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges. Spiro has mocked the indictment arsenic “not a existent case,” arguing that what the feds telephone bribes are really thing much than “courtesies” commonly awarded to politicians successful the U.S.

“They get country suites. They get amended tables astatine restaurants. They get escaped appetizers. They person their crystal beverage filled up,” Spiro said past month.