New York City’s legal department on Tuesday sought to end its defense of former Mayor Eric Adams in a 2024 sexual assault case, asking a judge for permission to stop representing the 65-year-old because it had determined that he was not carrying out official duties when he was accused of committing the act in question.
“Based on my review of new evidence since the original decision to represent him was made, I have determined that he is not entitled to representation by the City in this matter,” Steve Banks, the chief lawyer for New York City and an appointee of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said in a statement. “Accordingly, the Law Department has asked the court to permit our office to withdraw from representing the former Mayor.”
Adams was accused of sexual assault in a 2024 lawsuit filed by Lorna Beach-Mathura, who said that Adams pressured her to perform oral sex when he was her superior at the New York Police Department transit bureau in 1993.