Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case

What happened

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove's order to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams triggered the resignations of six senior Justice Department officials Thursday, starting with Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney tapped by President Donald Trump to temporarily lead the Southern District of New York. After Sassoon stepped down rather than drop the Adams charges, Bove transferred the case to Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. Within hours, the two top officials overseeing public corruption cases resigned, followed by three of their deputies.

Who said what

The "serial resignations" represented the "most high-profile public opposition so far" to Trump's "tightening control over the Justice Department," and a "stunning repudiation" of Bove's "explicitly political" rationale for pausing the Adams prosecution, The New York Times said.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday, Sassoon had said she could not in good faith drop the charges against Adams "because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged." She said that at a Jan. 31 meeting she attended with Bove, Adams' lawyers "repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo," arguing their client could assist Trump's immigration crackdown "only if the indictment were dismissed." Bove cited that rationale in ordering the case dismissed on Monday, saying he was not considering the merits of the case.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Bove accused Sassoon, a Republican and member of the conservative Federalist Society, of "insubordination" yesterday, telling her in a letter she was "disobeying direct orders implementing the policy of a duly elected president." Adams' lawyer Alex Spiro said the quid pro quo allegation was a "total lie." Hours after Sassoon's resignation, Adams said he would sign an executive order giving federal immigration agents access to New York City's Rikers Island prison, "overriding local 'sanctuary city' laws," Politico said.

What next?

Bove said Matthew Podolsky was now acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan and the two prosecutors handling the Adams case were being placed on leave because they were also unwilling to carry out his order. He said Sassoon and the two prosecutors will face internal investigations, but that "could prove risky" for Bove, the Times said, because officials will likely review his "conduct as well."