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In a dramatic legal twist, the Justice Department on Friday filed to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a decision that has triggered a wave of resignations among federal prosecutors and ignited controversy over political interference in the legal system.
The move does not immediately end the case, as a federal judge must approve the decision. However, it represents a stunning reversal in a case that has rocked both the Justice Department and Adams’ administration.
The crisis began earlier this week when acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle R. Sassoon, to dismiss the charges against Adams. Bove argued that the prosecution was interfering with Adams’ ability to assist the administration in addressing illegal immigration.
Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to comply and resigned on Thursday, sending a blistering memo to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Adams committed the crimes with which he was charged,” she wrote, adding that she was deeply disturbed by what transpired in a Jan. 31 meeting between Justice Department officials and Adams’ lawyers.
According to Sassoon, Adams’ attorneys suggested that dropping the charges would allow the mayor to assist with federal immigration enforcement, a statement she interpreted as a “quid pro quo.”
Following Sassoon’s refusal, the Justice Department reassigned the case to its Public Integrity Section in Washington. But rather than follow the directive to drop the charges, multiple prosecutors within the unit resigned, bringing the total number of departures over the decision to seven.
Legal experts have described the Justice Department’s intervention as highly unusual. “This sets a dangerous precedent,” said former federal prosecutor Robert Litt. “If high-profile defendants can effectively negotiate their way out of indictments through political bargaining, public trust in the justice system erodes.”
Adams, who was elected in 2021, was indicted last year on charges of accepting $100,000 in luxury flights and hotel stays from Turkish nationals as part of a decade-long corruption scheme. He has consistently maintained his innocence, calling the charges politically motivated.
Calls for his resignation have intensified in the wake of the Justice Department’s turmoil, but Adams remains defiant. Appearing on Fox & Friends Friday morning alongside Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, Adams pledged to allow federal immigration agents access to the Rikers Island jail complex.
“I’m not going to resign,” Adams declared.
Homan, celebrating Adams’ commitment to cooperate on immigration enforcement, warned that if the mayor failed to deliver, he would “be in his office, up his butt saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’”
As the Justice Department grapples with the fallout from its decision, questions linger about the political implications of the case’s dismissal and the extent of the Trump administration’s influence over the legal process.
