Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin on Tuesday asked the New York state bar to investigate Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove over his role in dismissing criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The Justice Department dropped the charges last month, after attorneys argued that the charges "would interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City, which poses unacceptable threats to public safety, national security, and related federal immigration initiatives and policies."

Durbin cited accusations in his complaint that the mayor agreed to assist the Trump administration with its immigration enforcement policies ahead of the dismissal as part of a quid pro quo arrangement, which Adams has strongly denied, per The Hill.

“As detailed in official Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY memoranda and subsequent public reporting, Mr. Bove has explicitly premised the dismissal of charges against Mayor Eric Adams upon the extraction of a political favor from Mayor Adams to benefit President Trump,” Durbin wrote to the First Judicial Department in New York.

“Notably, the dismissal is inherently coercive, because it was without prejudice, therefore allowing Mr. Bove to use the threat of again charging Mayor Adams to ensure the political favor is fulfilled," he continued. “Public confidence is eroded when such serious misconduct is met with no consequences."

Durbin further argued that the order was clearly made based on whether Adams could "devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime" in his city, rather than the strength of evidence in the case.

The request comes the day before Adams is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee in a hearing on sanctuary cities.

Adams was charged with federal bribery, conspiracy, and campaign finance offenses in September, but pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.