NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed corruption charges against Eric Adams with “prejudice,” meaning that the New York City mayor cannot be retried on the same charges at a later date.

Dale E. Ho of the Federal District Court in Manhattan refused to allow the government to keep open the option of reinstating the charges, as the Department of Justice had sought. The DOJ had said the prosecution was hindering Adams’ ability to help the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations.

“Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” Ho wrote in his 78-page decision.

“In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents,” Ho wrote. “It ensures that, going forward, the charges in the Indictment cannot be used as leverage over Mayor Adams or the City of New York.”

Adams’ trial had been set for later this month.

In his opinion, Ho rejected the DOJ’s claims that the case had been brought against Adams for political reasons by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

“There is no evidence -- zero -- that they had any improper motives,” he wrote.

The judge’s decision appears to close a chapter on the legal woes Adams faced after he was indicted in September 2024 on five counts of bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations.

“The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place -- and finally today that case is gone forever,” said Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro. From Day One, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed.”

Adams declined to address the case’s dismissal at an unrelated event Wednesday.

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