Justice Dept. Is Said to Put Two Prosecutors in Adams Case on Leave

New York|Justice Dept. Is Said to Put Two Prosecutors in Adams Case on Leave

Two Manhattan prosecutors who worked on the corruption case against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, were put on administrative leave by the Justice Department on Friday, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

The prosecutors, Celia Cohen and Andrew Rohrbach, had been serving in high-ranking positions in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, the people said. Ms. Cohen had been chief counsel to the acting U.S. attorney, Matthew Podolsky, while Mr. Rohrbach had worked as a co-chief of the general crimes unit.

Three of the people said the Justice Department in Washington had acted without any warning on Friday and that Ms. Cohen and Mr. Rohrbach were immediately escorted out of the Lower Manhattan building that houses the U.S. attorney’s office.

A spokesman for the office declined to comment, and a spokesman for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The actions were first reported by ABC News.

The rapid-fire developments in the corruption case against Mr. Adams have led to significant fallout within the Department of Justice, starting last month when Emil Bove III, a top department official, ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to ask a judge to dismiss the case.

Mr. Bove’s justification was extraordinary for several reasons, including his contention that the case against the mayor was interfering with his ability to assist with President Trump’s immigration crackdown. For many decades, prosecutors’ decisions have been made based on the facts, the law and the interests of justice, rather than political or policy considerations.