In a dramatic turn of events, a number of senior Justice Department officials tendered their resignations on Thursday, refusing to comply with an order to dismiss a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
This development comes amidst President Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to restructure the agency, which he claims has been manipulated for political gain.
According to Fox News, the six resignations included Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who was appointed by Trump to temporarily lead the office prosecuting Adams. Sassoon stepped down from her post on Thursday, as revealed in a memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, another Trump appointee.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon expressed her confusion over the hasty and superficial process that led to this decision. "I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached," she wrote.
Mayor Adams, a Democrat who believes he was targeted by the Biden administration, has shown a willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Despite pleading not guilty to charges of accepting bribes from Turkish officials, Sassoon argued in her letter to Bondi that Adams' advocacy should be seen for what it truly is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case.
Adams' attorney, Alex Spiro, dismissed the charges against his client as a "sham" in an email to Reuters. "If SDNY had any proof whatsoever that the mayor destroyed evidence, they would have brought those chargesas they continually threatened to do, but didnt, over months and months," Spiro wrote. "This newest false claim is just the parting shot of a misguided prosecution exposed as a sham."
In a memo released on Thursday, Bove stated that Sassoon had refused to comply with his office's finding that the case against Adams was a weaponization of the justice system. "Your resignation is acceptedyou lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the DOJ," he wrote.
After Sassoon's refusal to dismiss the case, the Trump administration directed John Keller, the acting head of the Justice Department's public corruption unit, to do so. Keller, along with Kevin Driscoll, a senior official in the department's criminal division, and three other deputies - Rob Heberle, Jenn Clarke, and Marco Palmieri - also resigned on Thursday over the Adams case.
In a statement to Fox News, Bove explained his decision to dismiss the prosecution against Adams, stating that it was necessary to "prioritize national security and public safety over continuing with a case that has been tainted from the start by troubling tactics."
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed her concern over the allegations against Mayor Adams and is considering his removal from office. The allegations suggest a quid pro quo arrangement, where Adams supported Trump's immigration policies in exchange for the dismissal of his charges.
Hochul, the only state official with the power to remove Adams from his position, stated, "The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now." Her comments followed a call from New York's second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, for Adams' resignation. "New York City deserves a Mayor accountable to the people, not beholden to the President," Delgado said. "Mayor Adams should step down."
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