Rep. Daniel Goldman on DOJ’s dismissal of Eric Adams case: ‘Outright extortion’
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) disparaged the Justice Department’s dismissal of the criminal bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams — expressing deep concern about what he described as the “politicization” of the federal government’s legal arm.
“It is an outright extortion. … This is way, way, way outside the bounds of the Department of Justice,” Goldman said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday.
“It’s the, I think, the most significant event since the ‘Saturday Night Massacre’ in the Department of Justice,” referencing the 1973 firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal.
Last week, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed the Justice Department to drop the charges against Adams. In a memo about the situation, Bove wrote that the case “improperly interfered” with the mayor’s reelection campaign and could make it more difficult for him to help President Donald Trump execute his immigration crackdown. As with the ‘Saturday Night Massacre,’ multiple officials resigned in protest of this request before it was fulfilled.
A few days later, Adams announced plans to allow ICE agents to work on Rikers Island, marking a significant departure from the city’s “sanctuary city” policies. Adams’ seeming effort to align himself with the Trump administration has already triggered calls from top New York Democrats for him to resign.
Despite being critical of the dismissal of Adams’ charges, Goldman said he doesn’t wish for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove Adams from his post at this time.
“I hope we don’t get there… I expect that there will be a resolution among, you know, the leaders of our political establishment in New York that hopefully would avoid something like that.”
Goldman said the Bove’s move signals a concerning future for the Justice Department.
“The politicization of the Department of Justice in a really bad and dangerous way, and it has to stop, and somebody needs to put a stop to it,” he said.
