Officials Resigned After Refusing to Drop Adams Case

Briefing|Officials Resigned After Refusing to Drop Adams Case

Manhattan’s U.S. attorney resigned this afternoon rather than obey an order from a top Justice Department official to drop the corruption case against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams. Soon after, when the department sought to transfer the case to the public integrity unit in Washington, the two men who led that division also quit.

Danielle Sassoon, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, wrote in her resignation letter that the order from Emil Bove, the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department, was “inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor.” (You can read her full letter.)

The resignations represent the most high-profile public resistance so far to President Trump’s tightening control over the Justice Department. They were a stunning repudiation of the administration’s attempt to end the prosecution of Adams, who has recently sought to curry favor with the president.

Just three days ago, Bove — who until recently was a criminal defense attorney for Trump — ordered the Manhattan office to drop the charges against Adams, arguing that it was stopping the mayor from helping Trump crack down on immigration. He made clear that he believed Trump should hold sway over the Justice Department, which for decades has operated separately from the White House.

Bove accepted Sassoon’s resignation in his own eight-page letter, in which he blasted her handling of the case. He also told Sassoon that the attorney general and the Justice Department’s internal investigative arm would evaluate her conduct.