After Resignations Of 7 Justice Dept. Officials Unwilling To Ask For Dismissal Of Eric Adams’ Bribery Case, Trump Administration Finally Finds A Lawyer To Do It

Daniella Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and two Department of Justice attorneys resigned last week after the Trump Justice Department ordered them to drop a five-count bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).

President Donald Trump‘s administration chose Sassoon to lead the Manhattan office while the permanent pick waits for Senate confirmation. The acting head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Kevin Driscoll, and a top official in the Public Integrity Section, John Keller, also resigned in protest. Four others followed suit after also being asked to withdraw the charges.

Sassoon’s action prompted a response from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. “Under your leadership, the office has demonstrated itself to be incapable of fairly and impartially reviewing the circumstances of this prosecution,” Bove wrote.

Bove served as one of Trump’s lawyers before the 2024 election and is currently the number two official at the Justice Department. Since assuming the role, he has fired prosecutors on Jan. 6 cases and collected the names of FBI agents involved in those cases.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon said her office was preparing to file a new indictment against Adams alleging destroying evidence for the case.

Bove claimed that Adams was being prosecuted in retribution for attacking former President Joe Biden‘s immigration policies. However, federal prosecutors were looking into the case in 2021 before Adams criticized Biden over immigration policy.

In the letter, Sassoon warned Bondi that dropping the case against Adams would be challenging since Judge Dale Ho would likely conduct an inquiry to determine the reason for the dismissal. 

Sassoon’s departure and Bove’s response are the latest escalation in the Adams case saga. 

Sassoon argued that dropping the case would reward Adams for illegal behavior. “Adams’ attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed,” Sassoon wrote.

But Bove went on the attack against Sassoon. “There is no room at the Justice Department for attorneys who refuse to execute on the priorities of the Executive Branch – priorities determined by the American people,” Bove stated.

On Friday, the Justice Department finally found a lawyer willing to ask the court to dismiss the case.