The Justice Department's order to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams will test whether a fiercely independent federal prosecutor's office can resist efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to rein it in.

The Justice Department's directive to drop the criminal prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams is one more example that relationships, allegiances and vendettas are in some cases determining who gets targeted − and who gets reprieved − in the age of Donald Trump.

The mayor was charged with bribery, fraud and other counts. Legal experts questioned the Trump administration’s justification for the move, and one law enforcement official called the order “transparent corruption.