Mayor Adams was not spared from facing trial over corruption charges on Wednesday after a federal judge delayed a decision on the Department of Justice’s controversial request to drop the case.

U.S. Southern District Judge Dale Ho, who is a Biden appointee, said during a hearing in lower Manhattan with DOJ officials and the mayor in attendance, that he needed time to weigh a decision.

“I m not gonna shoot from the hip right here from the bench,” Judge Ho said, adding that he wanted to make a “reasoned decision.”

“I’m grateful for your patience as I consider these issues carefully,” he said as court was adjourned.

Mr. Adams appeared just to want to be done with the case. When asked by the judge if he had any issues with any amicus briefs going into the record, Mr. Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, said he did not “as long as the record ends here.”

Mr. Adams is alleged to have accepted illegal foreign campaign donations from Turkish officials and that he accepted more than $100,000 worth of lavish travel, including premium class seats on Turkish Airlines.

“Adams soon began preparing for his next election, including by planning to solicit more illegal contributions and granting requests from those who supported his 2021 mayoral campaign,” reads a line from the indictment which also alleges that he defrauded the City of New York by funneling illegal foreign donations through straw donors based in America.

The mayor has vehemently denied the charges, calling them “sensational.”

On Friday, President Trump’s Justice Department withdrew its request to dismiss the charges after several prosecutors in New York and Washington had refused to seek out a dismissal at the behest of the Trump Administration. Some even resigned over the matter, including the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District, Danielle Sassoon.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote in his motion that the DOJ is seeking the dismissal because they did not fully evaluate “the evidence or the legal theories” before handing down charges and indicated that they were preventing Mr. Adams from giving his “full attention and resources to addressing illegal immigration and violent crime.”

On Wednesday, Attorney General Bondi’s chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, wrote on X that, “The case against Mayor Adams was just one in a long history of past DOJ actions that represent grave errors of judgement.” 

Mr. Trump has said he thought Mr. Adams was the victim of an unfair prosecution and has railed repeatedly against what he called a politicized Biden Justice Department, which charged him with multiple felonies in two separate cases. Those charges were all dropped after Mr. Trump won re-election.