A former Manhattan prosecutor reacted to the Department of Justice ordering federal corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams be dropped, saying it represents a precedence for avoiding prosecution.

“It's not on the merits. It's not because they’re saying that the evidence isn't there. Now very well, the mayor may not be guilty, but there is a process. There is a due process. There is something that plays out in a court of law. This is not how it's done,” said former Manhattan prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Jeremy Saland during an interview Tuesday on “Mornings On 1.”

Saland said the move should raise concerns for many, saying it sets a troubling precedent for future federal cases.

“Now we have a blueprint going forward of how to avoid prosecution under the federal government over the next four years: do, potentially, the president’s bidding and agree with him, and you may get a pass, merit or not. It’s very disturbing,” he said.

The Justice Department under President Joe Biden faced frequent accusations of being politically motivated, but Saland said this case shows a different kind of influence.

“I think it's consistent with the alleged weaponization and proof positive—exhibit A now under Donald Trump’s administration—that politics and maybe the weaponization the opposite way, or the shielding, if you will, it can happen if you do what he wants, and you are a person who he wants to be in a place of power,” Saland said.

Saland also questioned whether Trump critics would be treated the same way.

“The number of people in the media or other elected officials who have criticized Donald Trump—if someone is charged now with some sort of criminal wrongdoing, do we say…‘Wait a second, Department of Justice, this is a political witch hunt against us,’” he said.

While federal charges may be dropped, Saland said that doesn’t mean the case is over, noting it could move to the Manhattan or Brooklyn district attorneys' offices. And in that case, presidential intervention wouldn’t be an option.

“A president can pardon a federal case; a governor has that same authority on a state case,” he said. “So if the case were to proceed criminally against anyone, the president has no power to alter that on the state level.”