The top federal prosecutor in New York and two senior federal prosecutors in Washington have resigned after they refused to follow a Justice Department order to drop the corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, multiple officials said Thursday.
The resignations amount to a stunning public rebuke of the Trump administration's new Justice Department leadership in one of the country's highest-profile criminal cases.
The prosecutors resigned after Emil Bove, the acting U.S. deputy attorney general, issued a memo Monday ordering federal prosecutors in New York to drop the case against Adams, arguing, in part, that it hampered his ability to tackle “illegal immigration and violent crime.”
Danielle R. Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced her resignation in a brief statement to colleagues Thursday, the senior official said.
Sassoon appealed Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi and expressed her alarm at being ordered to drop the case, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. She wrote to Bondi that she attended a meeting on Jan. 31 with Bove, Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, and members of her office.
"Adams’s attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed," Sassoon wrote. "Mr. Bove admonished a member of my team who took notes during that meeting and directed the collection of those notes at the meeting’s conclusion."
Sassoon also said in the letter that her office was preparing to file additional charges against Adams “based on evidence that Adams destroyed and instructed others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the FBI.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked by reporters Thursday whether he asked that the charges be dismissed, Trump said: "No, I didn't. I know nothing about it."
In a statement, Spiro, Adams' lawyer, said: "The idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us."
Behind the scenes, Justice Department officials also tried to move the case to the agency’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, which oversees all federal public corruption cases, multiple sources said.
But John Keller, the acting head of the Public Integrity Section, refused to drop the case and resigned, two sources said. Three other members of the section also resigned.
Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the department's Criminal Division, which oversees federal criminal cases nationwide, also refused to drop the charges and resigned.
After Sassoon informed Bove of her resignation, he sent her a blistering eight-page letter in which he blasted her refusal to immediately drop the charges. Bove also placed at least two other prosecutors who worked on the case on leave, according to the letter, which was obtained by NBC News.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate the insubordination and apparent misconduct reflected in the approach that you and your office have taken in this matter," Bove wrote. "Your office’s insubordination is little more than a preference to avoid a duty that you regard as unpleasant and politically inconvenient."
But legal experts noted that Bove, in a highly unusual move, said in his memo Monday that the Justice Department could renew its investigation of Adams in the future. That step raised concerns that the department could use its threat of prosecution as leverage against Adams to help the Trump administration achieve its goals.
In an interview with NBC New York after the resignations, Adams praised Bondi. "I believe that the AG has made it clear that she’s going after weaponization of the Justice Department," he said, adding: "As they say, 'I’m Eric Adams, and I approve of this message.'"
Sterling conservative credentials
Sassoon, who took over the office last month, is a well-respected prosecutor with conservative credentials. Best known for successfully prosecuting crypto whiz kid-turned-fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, Sassoon was a member of the Federalist Society and had clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the Supreme Court’s most influential conservatives.
Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and former federal prosecutor, praised Sassoon.
"That the resignation should be by someone with sterling Federalist Society credentials only highlights the difference between the Trump administration and serious conservatives with integrity and respect for the criminal process," he said.
A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York, which is sometimes referred to as the “Sovereign District of New York” for its independent streak, said the new acting U.S. attorney is Matthew Podolsky. He has worked in the office since 2015.
Adams, a former New York police captain elected mayor in 2021, was charged in an indictment unsealed in September with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.
The indictment accused him of taking $100,000 worth of free plane tickets and luxury hotel stays from wealthy Turkish nationals and at least one government official in a nearly decadelong corruption scheme.
Adams has pleaded not guilty. He has insisted that he is innocent and argued that the charges are politically motivated.
Trump suggested on Dec. 16 that he would consider pardoning Adams, saying that Adams “was treated pretty unfairly” and that he would need to see the case, “because I don’t know the facts.”
Adams met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, days before Trump was inaugurated as president. He said they discussed a number of topics but “did not discuss my legal case.” Adams later attended Trump’s inauguration.
Late last month, an attorney for Adams contacted Justice Department leadership about dropping the criminal case, NBC News has reported.
In his memo ordering Sassoon to drop the charges, Bove suggested that the case was political. It “cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior Administration’s immigration policies before the charges were filed,” Bove wrote.
There is no evidence to suggest that the charges were pursued for that reason.
When the indictment was unsealed, James Dennehy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, called the charges "a stinging reminder that no one is above the law or beyond reproach" and "a sobering moment for all of us who place our trust in elected officials."
