Senior Officials Resign Over Order to Drop Adams Corruption Case

• Three senior Justice Department officials resign over orders to drop the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
• Prosecutors refuse to comply, citing concerns over political interference and legal integrity.
• The resignations highlight tensions between the Trump administration and the Justice Department.

Three senior Justice Department officials in New York and Washington resigned on Thursday rather than comply with the Trump administration’s directive to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The resignations mark a significant act of protest against President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, which has aggressively removed prosecutors linked to cases involving Trump and sought details on thousands of FBI agents who investigated the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, stepped down rather than drop the case, stating in an eight-page resignation letter that Adams’ legal team had “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo”—offering to assist Trump on immigration policy if the charges were dismissed.

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When Sassoon refused to allow any prosecutor involved in the case to sign the dismissal order, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove—a former personal lawyer for Trump—turned to the Justice Department’s public integrity section to push through the directive, according to sources familiar with the matter.

In response, the resignations escalated. Kevin Driscoll, the top career prosecutor in the public integrity section, and John Keller, the acting head of the office, also resigned rather than comply. Later that day, as many as three additional public integrity prosecutors submitted their resignations, according to multiple sources.

The Justice Department’s move to drop the corruption case against Adams has raised concerns about political interference, particularly within the prestigious U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is known for prosecuting high-profile cases in the nation’s largest city. Following the turmoil, career prosecutor Matthew Podolsky has been appointed as acting U.S. attorney.

Sassoon resigned before Bove could fire her, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Bove had ordered the case against Mayor Eric Adams to be dismissed following a high-level meeting at the Justice Department in Washington. The meeting included Adams’ attorneys, Alex Spiro and William Burck, as well as Sassoon, two prosecutors handling the case, and the head of appeals.

In a two-page memo issued Monday, Bove directed prosecutors to drop the case “as soon as is practicable.” He justified the decision by claiming the prosecution was “unduly restricting Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to illegal immigration and violent crime”—a statement that underscored the political motivations behind the move.

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During the meeting, which Bove convened, he pressed prosecutors on whether the case had hindered Adams’ ability to govern, aligning with the Trump administration’s broader stance on the so-called “weaponization” of political investigations, according to a source familiar with the discussion.

Adams’ legal team argued that the criminal case impaired the mayor’s ability to lead the city, forcing him to divert time and resources to his defence, including potentially spending up to two months in court. His lawyers also pointed to actions by former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams—who had launched a website and published an op-ed—as a sign he might seek political office, suggesting ulterior motives behind the prosecution.

Adams’ attorneys pushed for an outright dismissal of the charges. Days later, on Monday, Bove issued his directive to drop the case without prejudice, allowing for the possibility of it being reopened after the 2025 mayoral election. By that time, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney, Jay Clayton, is expected to be confirmed and overseeing the office.

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