Paul Clement, a former solicitor general and previous potential Trump Supreme Court pick, was tapped by a federal judge Friday to weigh in on the motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho decided to adjourn the case against Adams until further notice, while also appointing Clement to serve as an independent party.
Ho wrote that bringing in Clement was ‘appropriate’ in this case, ‘particularly so in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation.’
Former assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy noted to Fox News Digital that it is ‘unusual’ for courts to entertain amicus briefs in criminal cases and ‘it is highly unusual to appoint an amicus to assist the court in the manner contemplated in the Adams case.’
Clement, a seasoned appellate lawyer who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, served as solicitor general under the Bush administration from 2005-2008. He was notably on President Donald Trump’s short list of Supreme Court nominees during his first term.
Before taking on the role of the federal government’s top appellate lawyer, Clement served as a deputy solicitor general.
Clement earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a master’s in economics from Cambridge University.
He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as well as for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
He went into private practice after his clerkships, joining Kirkland & Ellis’ Washington, D.C., office.
Clement also served as chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights before returning to private practice and working as a partner at King & Spalding in D.C., where he headed the firm’s appellate practice.
Clement is currently a distinguished lecturer in law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he initially served as an adjunct professor starting in 1998. He is also partner at Clement & Murphy in D.C.
Clement’s advocacy in the high court includes recently arguing Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which effectively overturned the Chevron doctrine. The doctrine previously gave deference to an agency’s interpretation of a federal regulation. Clement also litigated against the Obama administration, challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
McCarthy said he thinks ‘very highly of Paul Clement, who is among the top appellate lawyers in the United States,’ saying the Adams case ‘calls for a faithful interpretation’ of federal law and ‘I can’t think of anyone better than Clement to give a judge impartial, solid advice on that issue.’
Ho’s decision to adjourn the case came just days after U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked prosecutors to drop all corruption charges against the mayor.
In the motion to dismiss, Bove said the legal proceedings against Adams were detracting from other Justice Department priorities, such as illegal immigration and violent crime.
Ho appointed Clement to weigh in on the DOJ’s motion to drop the case. Among the questions posed to Clement, the court asks, ‘Under what circumstances, if leave is granted, dismissal should be with or without prejudice.’
‘The main point of the rule is to protect the defendant’s rights,’ McCarthy said. ‘The judge has no authority to order DOJ to persist in prosecuting Adams, or to appoint a ‘special prosecutor,’ but Clement is an excellent lawyer and can give Judge Ho good advice on whether to accept the plea with the ‘without prejudice’ term in it.’
Parties are expected to submit briefings by early March, with oral arguments expected shortly thereafter.
The charges against Adams will remain intact until Ho agrees to dismiss them.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.