Three senior federal prosecutors, including the top prosecutor in New York, have resigned after refusing to follow an order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
According to multiple officials, Danielle R. Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, along with two senior federal prosecutors in Washington, stepped down after receiving direct instructions from Justice Department leadership to drop the case. Their resignations mark a major public rebuke of the Trump administration’s handling of one of the country’s most high-profile criminal investigations.
The controversy stems from a memo issued Monday by Emil Bove, the acting U.S. deputy attorney general, who ordered the case against Adams to be dismissed. Bove justified the decision by arguing that the indictment was interfering with Adams’ ability to focus on “illegal immigration and violent crime.”
However, Sassoon and her colleagues were alarmed by the directive. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon detailed a January 31 meeting between her office, Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro, and Bove. She alleged that Adams’ legal team pushed for a quid pro quo, implying that the mayor would only cooperate with the Justice Department’s priorities if the indictment was dropped.
Sassoon further claimed that her office had been preparing to file additional charges against Adams, alleging that he destroyed evidence, instructed others to do the same, and provided false information to the FBI.
