The criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is hanging by a thread after the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop the charges.
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00:00My fellow New Yorkers, as you may have heard, the Department of Justice has directed that the
00:08case against me be dismissed, finally ending a months-long saga that put me, my family,
00:18and this city through an unnecessary ordeal. As I said from the outset, I never broke the law
00:27and I never would. I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility
00:35as your mayor. It is worth repeating the facts because many sensational and false claims
00:42have been made. So let me be clear, I never ask anyone to break the law on my behalf
00:51or on behalf of my campaign. Never. And I absolutely never traded my power as an elected
01:00official for any personal benefit. No witness ever came forward publicly to make claims against me.
01:10None of the baseless threats from prosecutors of new charges and new evidence ever materialized.
01:18And this case will no longer continue. So I thank the Justice Department for its honesty.
01:26Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city.
01:33It's time to move forward. But despite the fact that I am no longer facing legal questions,
01:42I also understand that many New Yorkers will still question my character. And I know that I
01:50must continue to regain your trust. I have learned a lot over the last year and this experience has
01:58been humbling. If you want to know who I am, all you have to know about me is where I am from.
02:05Who I am is not in the headlines. It is in my history. It's the same place as you,
02:11working class, struggling to survive, in love with this city, even when it lets us down.
02:19I grew up in a place where justice always seemed out of reach. My family was betrayed by a city
02:25that didn't care enough about us. And that's why I fought for you and we keep fighting for you.
02:32Because I am you. And that is why you can trust me to keep moving this city forward.
02:38This has been the most difficult 15 months of my life.
02:42But my inspiration was knowing I was fighting for the people of this city.