Star Prosecutor in New York Upbraided by Justice Department for Defiant Resignation Over Order To Drop Charges Against Mayor Adams

A revolt is brewing at the Department of Justice against President Trump’s decision to dismiss criminal charges targeting Mayor Adams. The resignation of a prosecutorial prodigy, Danielle Sassoon, the acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, is a rebuke of Mr. Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi.Ms. Sassoon, in turn, was rebuked by the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, who also served as the president’s former defense attorney. As of this writing, no motion to dismiss the charges has been filed to the presiding judge, Dale Ho, of the federal court in the Southern District of New York, where the mayor was due to be tried.Mr. Adams was due to stand trial in April for criminal bribery — ahead of the Democratic primary in June that could determine whether he is the party’s nominee for mayor. Earlier this week, Main Justice, now under the control of Ms. Bondi, issued a memorandum commanding Ms. Sassoon to drop the charges against Mr. Adams, describing them as politically motivated. The Times reports that two other prosecutors, headquartered at Washington, have also resigned.Ms. Sassoon’s resignation letter, obtained by the New York Post, claimed that Manhattan federal prosecutors were close to bringing new charges against Mr. Adams for destroying evidence and telling people to lie to the FBI. The refusal of prosecutors to heed the order to dismiss the charges, which are connected to payments and favors Mr. Adams received from Turkish nationals, is a challenge to Ms. Bondi’s nascent tenure as America’s 87th attorney general. Ms. Sassoon, who was a conservative member of the Federalist Society and clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, is hardly a card-carrying member of the liberal deep state. The decision of whether to dismiss the case will ultimately be up to Judge Ho, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Biden in 2021, or to a higher court on appeal. His background is on the left. That memo to drop the case came from the DOJ’s acting second in command, Mr. Bove, who once served as a prosecutor in SDNY and was on Mr. Trump’s defense team in the hush-money case brought at Manhattan. Mr. Bove wrote Ms. Sassoon that she is “directed to dismiss,” citing “independent reasons.” He mandated that “there shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps.” Mr. Bove contends that the prosecution “improperly interfered with Mayor Adams’ campaign in the 2025 mayoral election” and has “restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration.” Mr. Adams has in recent months dined at Mar-a-Lago and attended Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Trump had said he thought the charges against Mr. Adams, like those brought against him by the Department of Justice, were politically motivated.Charges were handed up against Mr. Adams nine months before June’s primary. The Times reports that Ms. Sassoon said in an email to her office Thursday: “Moments ago, I submitted my resignation to the attorney general. As I told her, it has been my greatest honor to represent the United States and to pursue justice as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.” Ms. Sassoon was always a short-timer in the job. Mr. Trump has nominated a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, to lead the SDNY. He will require confirmation by the Senate.The Post reports that Ms. Sassoon’s letter explained: “Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations.” Mr. Bove on Thursday responded to Ms. Sassoon’s letter with one of his own. He accused her of working to “continue pursuing a politically motivated prosecution despite an express instruction to dismiss the case.” He also declares that she “lost sight of the oath” that she took “when you started at the Department of Justice by suggesting that you retain discretion to interpret the Constitution.” It was Mr. Trump who elevated Ms. Sassoon, 38 years old, to acting U.S. attorney for the prestigious Southern District, which comprises the island of Manhattan. During the spring, she secured the conviction on seven counts of a fallen crypto mogul, Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.Now, Mr. Bove writes that under Ms. Sassoon’s leadership, the SDNY “has demonstrated itself to be incapable of fairly and impartially reviewing the circumstances of this prosecution.” He accuses Ms. Sassoon of a “dereliction of duty.” As a veteran of the SDNY, though, Mr. Bove likely knows that the office’s nickname is “the Sovereign District” due to its reputation for independence.

Star Prosecutor in New York Upbraided by Justice Department for Defiant Resignation Over Order To Drop Charges Against Mayor Adams

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