When the Trump Department of Justice decided to dismiss the case against Eric Adams, and in the process blow up their public corruption prosecution units in both New York City and D.C., the DOJ made sure to note that what it wanted was to reserve the ability to reinstate charges against the mayor, essentially taking him hostage if he, say, didn't go along with Trump's federal immigration enforcement agenda.
Adams, very much not wanting to go to prison, was initially eager to accept this kind of conditional dismissal. But federal Judge Dale Ho, who is overseeing the case, had other ideas. In a pretty tactical move, Ho appointed Paul Clement, one of the most famous trial lawyers in the country, and a very notable conservative, to help him decide if this type of conditional dismissal, one completely predicated on political supplication, is actually legal.
On Friday, Clement issued his advice: Yeah, not legal at all.
In a 33-page filing, Clement looks at whether the rules of federal procedure would compel Judge Ho to go along with the prosecution's rather bizarre request for a dismissal without prejudice, which Clement likens to the "Sword of Damocles over the accused" or if Judge Ho could simply just make the charges go away forever, by dismissing them with prejudice.