The US Justice Department on Monday ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, arguing in a departure from long-standing norms the case was interfering with the mayor’s ability to aid the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told prosecutors in New York they were “directed to dismiss” the bribery charges against Adams immediately.

Bove said the order was not based on the strength of evidence in the case, but rather because it had been brought too close to Adams re-election campaign and was distracting from the mayor’s efforts to assist in the Trump administration’s law-and-order priorities.

“The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime,” Bove wrote.

The memo also ordered prosecutors in New York not to take “additional investigative steps” against the Democrat until after November's mayoral election, though it left open the possibility that charges could be refiled after that following a review.

The intervention and reasoning — that a powerful defendant could be too occupied with official duties to face accountability for alleged crimes — marks a striking deviation from long-standing justice department norms.

An attorney for Adams, Alex Spiro, said the justice department’s order had vindicated the mayor’s claim of innocence.

“Now, thankfully, the mayor and New York can put this unfortunate and misguided prosecution behind them," said Spiro, who has also represented Elon Musk.

The case against Adams was brought under the previous US attorney for the district, Damien Williams, who stepped down before Trump became president.

The memo follows months of speculation that Trump would take steps to end the case against Adams, who was charged in September with accepting bribes of free or discounted travel and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals seeking to buy his influence. (AP)