Eric Adams: U.S. Attorney, 5 DOJ Lawyers Quit, Refuse to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor

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The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and five high-ranking Justice Department officials resigned Thursday to protest the Trump administration’s order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Danielle Sassoon, who was the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in her resignation letter that dropping the case against Adams would violate her duty to uphold the law fairly and consistently. A top Justice Department official ordered the charges against Adams dropped earlier in the week, citing the case’s impact on the mayor’s ability to help with the administration’s immigration crackdown as it expands raids and deportations. After Sassoon resigned in protest, Justice Department officials moved the case from New York to the Public Integrity Section in the Criminal Division, which led to five more prosecutors resigning. Meanwhile, Adams met with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to discuss the possible reopening of an ICE office inside New York’s Rikers Island jail. “Clearly he knows that he has to get on board; otherwise, he may be on a train to some federal prison,” says Ron Kuby, a longtime criminal defense and civil rights attorney based in New York who has been following the case closely. He says that while the mass resignations have illustrated that it’s possible to stand up to the Trump administration’s abuses, Adams is likely safe for now. “This is effectively going to be the end of the case once the administration finds somebody sufficiently spineless to actually file the papers,” says Kuby.

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