As Mayor Eric Adams’ criminal case remains in limbo, Manhattan federal prosecutors are continuing plea discussions with a former mayoral aide who’s seen as a crucial witness directly connecting the mayor to an illegal straw donor scheme.
Mohamed Bahi, a former mayoral liaison to the Muslim community, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to have an Uzbeki contractor reimburse four of his employees for contributions to the Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign. They raised a total of $10,000 in December 2020.
When federal and city investigators confronted the contractor in July as part of a sprawling probe of Adams’ fundraising, Bahi allegedly told the mayor, then told the contractor to lie about the source of the donations, assuring him that the mayor was confident the donors wouldn’t cooperate with investigators, prosecutors allege.
Bahi was arrested last fall on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, and in February prosecutors announced he had “indicated that he intends to plead guilty.” A plea date was set for this Monday.
Late in the day, prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office notified the court that Bahi “has entered into a written plea agreement with the Government,” but sought a 30-day delay to continue discussions “regarding resolution of this case” until April 9. Typically, a guilty plea is accompanied by a statement by the defendant detailing the specific actions they are admitting to.
It’s not clear how this case will be resolved going forward, given the turmoil that has followed the Department of Justice decision following the inauguration of Donald Trump as president to cease Adams’ prosecution and the subsequent resignation or removal of prosecutors who worked on public corruption cases.
The scheme Bahi is charged with is outlined in Adams’ indictment, with Bahi identified as Adams employee #1 and the contractor identified as Businessman #4. Though it appears prosecutors continue to pursue the case against Bahi, the case against the mayor is in an entirely different state.
Last month, the Trump Justice Department moved to dismiss the indictment against the mayor “without prejudice,” meaning it could be reopened at will. Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, last week demanded that the case be tossed “with prejudice,” meaning it could not be revisited by prosecutors.
Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho is now considering these options, with Paul Clement, an attorney Ho appointed to give him guidance, last week recommending that the case be dismissed “with prejudice.” Ho has yet to make a final decision.
The Justice Department move to toss the case against Adams has triggered an eruption of outrage in part due to the way Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove chose to do it. Bove said he did not assess the merits of the case, but instead decided it must be dismissed because, amongst other things, it was interfering with the mayor’s ability to help the Trump administration in its immigration deportation initiative.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sasson refused to follow Bove’s order, calling the order “unlawful” and alleging that Adams’ attorneys had “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.” She resigned in protest.
That prompted four of the mayor’s top deputies to announce their resignations and a wave of elected officials — including several former Adams supporters — to call for him to resign or be removed.
Adams has denied the existence of a quid pro quo, repeatedly stating that he’s done nothing wrong.
The fact that the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office is continuing to pursue the Bahi case comes after the prosecutors overseeing both Adams’ and Bahi’s cases have all resigned or been put on leave.
One of those prosecutors, Hagan Scotten, appears to be under investigation by the Justice Department. A filing by Bove (now principal associate deputy attorney general) and Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche, both of whom represented Trump in his criminal case in Manhattan, quotes internal text messages by Assistant U.S. Attorney 1, who matches the description of Scotten.
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