Danielle Sassoon and other officials resign after ordering the abandonment of Eric Adams Case

U.S. attorneys in Manhattan resigned Thursday instead of ordering from senior Justice Department officials to remove corruption cases against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Then, when Justice Department officials tried to transfer the case to the Washington Public Integrity Department, which oversees corruption cases, two people leading the unit also resigned.

The resignation represents by far the most eye-catching public resistance of President Trump’s austerity control over the Justice Department. It is a surprising negation of the government’s attempt to force dismiss the allegations against Mr. Adams.

The departure of U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon and officials in charge of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division quickly inherited Thursday. A few days ago, Emil Bove III, the second Justice Department official, ordered Manhattan prosecutors to withdraw the case against Mr. Adams.

The agency’s justification for the case was clear political. Mr. Bauff argued that the investigation would prevent Mr. Adams from fully cooperating with Trump’s immigration crackdown. Mr. Bauf said Washington officials did not evaluate the power of evidence or legal theory behind the case.

Mr Bove accepted Ms. Sassoon’s resignation in a brilliant eight-page letter Thursday, in which he slammed the handling of the case and decided not to obey orders.

He told her that the prosecutors in the case against Mr. Adams were sent to administrative leave because they were unwilling to comply with his orders.

He said the Attorney General and the Justice Department’s internal investigation department will investigate them. He also told Ms. Sassoon that the two bodies would also evaluate her behavior.

However, the internal investigation ordered by Mr. Baufu could risk him. Officials may also review Mr. Bove’s actions, and the judges overseeing the case can ask for answers from Washington Department of Justice officials.

Mr. Bove’s letter provided a window into a dispute that broke out between Justice Department officials in Washington and federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

Mr Bove made it clear that he believed Mr Trump had a seat on the Justice Department, which had been evacuating from the White House for decades.

“In a sense that you will implement a formal presidential election policy by disobeying direct orders,” he wrote, “anyone who makes this behavior romantic is about the nature of the work and the public. The perception of our efforts has been damaged. Transparent

He wrote that he accepted Ms. Sasan’s resignation “based on your choice to continue with a politically motivated prosecution, despite clear instructions to dismiss the case. You cannot see the oath taken at the beginning of the Justice Department.”

Until recently, Mr. Bauff was one of Mr. Trump’s defense attorneys, representing him at a criminal trial in New York State last year. The trial led to Trump’s conviction of 34 felony crimes referring to forging business records to cover up a sexual scandal that could derail his 2016 campaign.

The Southern region has long been regarded as the most prestigious U.S. attorney’s office in the United States and is known for protecting independence and defending against Washington’s intervention, earning the nickname of “Soviet District.”

An office spokesperson did not comment. An official with the Justice Department of Washington declined to comment.

Ms Sassoon informed her office that her decision had resigned Thursday in a short email before 2 p.m., which had no motion to dismiss the case.

“I submitted my resignation to the Attorney General a moment ago,” she wrote in an email. “As I told her, it is my greatest honor to represent the United States and serve as a prosecutor in the southern part of New York.”

She continued: “It is an honor to be your colleague and I will be proud to watch as you continue to serve the United States.”

It is unclear who will replace her, but is usually the second official in the office, U.S. deputy attorney, Matthew Podolski currently holds.

The Trump administration appointed experienced prosecutor Ms. Sasan for temporary positions last month, while Mr. Trump chose the job, and Jay Clayton awaits Senate confirmation.

Ms. Sassoon soon had a conversation with Justice Department officials about the criminal case against Mr. Adams.

Last year, Mr. Adams was indicted on five counts, including bribery, fraud and solicitation of illegal foreign campaign donations, due to an investigation that began in 2021.

Then, on Monday, Mr. Bauf directed Ms. Sasan to dismiss the case. She was also told to stop all further investigation steps against Mr. Adams until the Senate confirmed U.S. lawyers (presumably Mr. Clayton) were reviewed after the mayoral election in November.

Ms. Sassoon, 38, joined the Southern Region in 2016. A graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School, she served as judge Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court and is a member of the Conservative legal group Federalist Association.

She is known for her successful fraud prosecution and a 2023 conviction against Sam Bankman Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail. She also sued Lawrence V. Ray, who was convicted in 2022, for violating his abuse of Sarah Lawrence college students. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

In 2023, Ms. Sasan was appointed co-host of the Southern Regional Criminal Appeals Division, a position she held when she was promoted to interim U.S. attorney last month.

Mr. Baufu, in an order to revoke the case, said the directive “will never question the integrity and efforts of the prosecutors engaged in the case” and that Ms. Sasan was not leading them in their efforts.

Mr. Bauff said the charges must be dismissed because the prosecution “Mayor Adams has the ability to devote all his attention and resources to Trump’s immigration repression” and “improper interference” with Mr. Adams’ reelection campaign.

The memorandum criticized the timing of the charges and “recent public conduct” by former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who filed the case, which Mr. Bauf said was “threatening the integrity of the lawsuit” through increased pretrial propaganda, This can contaminate. Potential witnesses and jurors.

Mr. Bauff appears to refer to an article written by Mr. Williams last month after leaving the office last month, saying New York City was “ruled by a moral compass.”

Mr Williams announced a lawsuit against Mr. Adams in September, who led the office during the Biden administration. Mr. Adams, a Democrat, claimed that his goal was his goal due to the government’s criticism of the influx of more than 200,000 immigrants into the city – a claim that the Southern Region dismissed, noting that the investigation began before the mayor began. Those comments.

Mr. Adams praised Mr. Trump’s agenda, visited him near his Margrago compound and attended his inauguration a few days later. The two did not discuss pardons, but Mr. Trump spoke of a “weapon” of the Justice Department.

Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Adams’s prosecution, saying the mayor was “unfairly treated” and surfaced.

On January 22, after Ms. Sassoon was promoted to her position, the southern region filed a lawsuit under her name, vigorously defending her lawsuit. The document cites “specific evidence” that Mr. Adams has taken illegal campaign contributions. His claims say his prosecution was politically motivated to try to “distract from his guilt.”

Devlin Barrett,,,,, Glen Thrush,,,,, Adam Goldman and Jan Ransom Contribution report.