On Thursday, the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams reportedly resulted in a series of resignations and sparked a dispute between career prosecutors and high-ranking Trump appointees.
Danielle Sassoon, a veteran federal prosecutor, was the first to go after she refused to abide with the request to abandon the case. After taking office, President Trump appointed Sassoon as the acting U.S. attorney for Manhattan.
John Keller, the head of the Justice Department’s public-integrity division, and Kevin Driscoll, the senior-most career official in the criminal division, followed suit.
After Sassoon declined, it became apparent that they would be compelled to dismiss the case, so they fled, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
In response to Sassoon’s formal resignation, Emil Bove, the acting No. 2 officer at the Justice Department, sent a scathing letter criticizing her for defying orders and removing the Adams case from the New York office.
Bove’s unusual order to drop the bribery case against Adams on Monday set off a chain reaction. The mayor was accused of being singled out for political reasons, and the prosecution hampered his ability to combat violent crime and illegal immigration, two issues that the Trump administration prioritizes.
The Trump administration has significant influence against the big-city Democrat because the agency specifically reserved the right to resurrect the matter at a later time.
The Justice Department’s custom of handling cases was broken by the decision to discontinue the prosecution.
According to former officials, the action ran the risk of transforming an organization that usually prides itself on being free from political influence into one in which law enforcement is amenable to compromise.
In September, Adams was accused by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, then headed by Damian Williams, with collecting $100,000 in travel and lodging benefits in exchange for official acts and illegally accepting campaign contributions from Turkey.
Adams was set to stand trial in April on five felony charges, including bribery, fraud, and soliciting contributions from foreign persons.
He was the first sitting mayor to be indicted in the modern history of New York City.
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