Show ’em if you got ’em!
Mayor Eric Adams’ legal team threw down the gauntlet Monday — claiming federal prosecutors don’t have the goods for another indictment despite saying months ago that they were “moving quickly” on more charges.
“[T]he incriminating evidence the government hoped to obtain does not exist,” celebrity attorney Alex Spiro wrote in the early morning filing.
“The government’s ‘evidence’ thus reveals what defense counsel knew all along: this case is an egregious overreach by prosecutors with no interest in a search for the truth,” Spiro added.
The high-profile attorney — who is also repping Jay-Z in his underage sex allegation lawsuit — also claimed that none of the discovery turned over so far contains any damning evidence and more than two dozen witnesses provided testimony that allegedly clears the mayor.
However, Spiro notes, the defense team still doesn’t have all the witness statements, which he claims the feds want to withhold right up until trial in April.
Adams, who has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, was slapped with a historic federal indictment in September accusing Hizzoner of accepting bribes — free or heavily discounted luxury travel — in exchange for political favors.
In the days following, lead prosecutor Hagan Scotten told the judge a “superseding indictment” was “quite likely” and the feds were “moving quickly.”
But the feds have yet to bring any new charges against the mayor or anyone else involved in the alleged scheme that included hiding the real source of thousands of dollars in campaign donations.
The filing is just the latest in a contentious back-and-forth between the Adams’ lawyers and SDNY prosecutors — both accusing each other of trying to sway public opinion in court filings and press statements.
Last week, prosecutors accused the defense of breaking federal trial rules over Spiro claiming the case “isn’t real” as well as his attacks on key witness Rana Abbasova.
“Adams, like every criminal defendant, is entitled to a zealous defense. His counsel is free to make arguments about the Indictment, the evidence, or the Government’s witnesses to the Court,” Acting SDNY US Attorney Edward Kim wrote.
“But rather than test those allegations in a court of law … defense counsel has instead chosen to litigate this case in press statements, where he can simply pretend certain facts do not exist.”
Spiro shot back in the Monday morning filing that the allegations were “baseless” attacking the prosecutor’s letter to the judge as merely a “government press release” meant to subvert the very same rule.
Adams has pushed to move up his case to the start of April to give him more time to campaign for reelection before June’s Democratic primary. He is set to stand trial on April 21.
