A judge in New York City Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case has appointed an outside attorney to argue over the Department of Justice's request to drop the federal charges.

Experts say it’s far from clear how would play out. The closest it’s come to happening was nearly a century ago when Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a trial against Mayor Jimmy Walker, who subsequently resigned and moved to Europe to avoid criminal prosecution.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce Thursday that she will not use her executive powers to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office at least for now, two sources briefed on the decision told CNN.