Three senior federal prosecutors submitted their resignations on Thursday following the decision by the Department of Justice to dismiss the criminal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Danielle Sassoon, who was serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned as confirmed by a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office. Her resignation came three days after directives from the Justice Department leadership to abandon the corruption case against Mayor Adams.
Sassoon, who had previously played a pivotal role in the prosecution and conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried, was appointed as interim U.S. attorney by the Trump administration last month. Emil Bove, the acting second-in-command at the Justice Department, accepted Sassoon’s resignation and also placed three assistant U.S. attorneys involved in the case on leave. The actions of these attorneys are under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, as outlined in a letter from Bove obtained by NPR.
In the letter, Bove criticized the prosecutors, stating that they had lost sight of their oath by suggesting discretion to interpret the Constitution in ways inconsistent with the policies set by the elected President and Senate-confirmed Attorney General.
One of the assistant U.S. attorneys placed on leave included Hagan Scotten, a decorated military veteran and Harvard Law School graduate who previously clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts. Later on Thursday, John Keller, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, and Kevin Driscoll, a senior career official in the Criminal Division, also resigned. Their resignations followed requests for them to take over the Adams case, as reported by sources requesting anonymity.
Last year, Mayor Adams was indicted on corruption charges, with a trial initially scheduled for April. A memo released by the Justice Department on Monday stated the federal charges would be dropped “without prejudice.” Mayor Adams has consistently maintained his innocence. In legal documents, his attorneys accused the U.S. attorneys of improperly managing the case, which included allegations of leaking confidential information to the media. The indictment alleged that Adams exploited his official capacity in New York City for illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel benefits.
A former Justice Department official expressed anonymously that the consequences of this case represent “the worst seen so far from the new DOJ,” describing the dismissal as both “jaw-dropping” and “shocking.”
