Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, resigned after the Justice Department sought to dismiss a corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Sassoon vehemently disagreed with the decision, alleging a quid pro quo involving Adams' support for Trump's immigration policies in exchange for dropping the charges. She penned a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, citing ethical concerns and a lack of transparency in the process.
Danielle Sassoon , the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, submitted her resignation on Thursday, just days after the Justice Department sought to dismiss a criminal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams . Multiple members of the office where the case was to be reassigned have also resigned. Prior to her resignation, Sassoon sent a letter on Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly urging Bondi to reverse course. 'The reasons advanced by Mr.
Bove for dismissing the indictment are not ones I can in good faith defend as in the public interest and as consistent with the principles of impartiality and fairness that guide my decision-making,' Sassoon wrote. In the letter, Sassoon repeatedly suggested DOJ leadership, including Bove, were explicitly aware of a quid pro quo suggested by Adams' attorneys, saying Adams' vocal support of Trump's immigration policies would be boosted with dismissing the indictment against him. 'Rather than be rewarded, Adams's advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,' Sassoon writes. 'Although Mr. Bove disclaimed any intention to exchange leniency in this case for Adams's assistance in enforcing federal law, that is the nature of the bargain laid bare in Mr. Bove's memo.' Sassoon was appointed by President Donald Trump in January to lead as acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York after Damian Williams stepped down from the role following Trump's election victory. Trump's permanent choice to lead the Southern District, Jay Clayton, has yet to be confirmed. Sassoon's resignation followed days of tension between the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and leaders in the Justice Department over the case. On Monday, Bove sent a memo that told Sassoon, 'You are directed, as authorized by the Attorney General, to dismiss the pending charges in United States v. Adams.' On January 31, Sassoon was drawn into a conversation at DOJ headquarters in Washington about the future of the case. Sassoon's letter detailed the meeting with Bove and counsel for the mayor, where she says Adams' attorneys put forward 'what amounted to a quid pro quo,' after which Bove 'admonished a member of my team who took notes during that meeting and directed the collection of those notes at the meeting's conclusion.' 'It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams's opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment,' Sassoon said. 'Nor will a court likely find that such an improper exchange is consistent with the public interest.' Adams' lawyer balked at that notion following Sassoon's resignation, 'The idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us.' Sassoon's letter claimed that the U.S. Attorney's Office had already proposed seeking a superseding indictment against Adams under the new administration that would bolster the case with an additional obstruction conspiracy charge. 'We have proposed a superseding indictment that would add an obstruction conspiracy count based on evidence that Adams destroyed and instructed others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the FBI, and that would add further factual allegations regarding his participation in a fraudulent straw donor scheme,' Sassoon said. She noted that Bove's contention that dismissing the indictment against Adams is warranted because it has interfered in his abilities to enforce federal immigration laws 'does not bear scrutiny.' 'It does not grapple with the differential treatment Adams would receive compared to other elected officials, much less other criminal defendants,' Sassoon said. 'And it is unclear why Adams would be better able to aid in immigration enforcement when the threat of future conviction is due to the possibility of reinstatement of the indictment followed by conviction at trial, rather than merely the possibility of conviction at trial.' Sassoon closes the letter noting she remains 'baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached, in seeming collaboration with Adams's counsel and without my direct input on the ultimate stated rationales for dismissal.' 'That case should be dropped. It was dead at the directive of Emil so that case should be dropped,' Bondi told reporters on Wednesday
Eric Adams Danielle Sassoon Justice Department Corruption Quid Pro Quo US Attorney Resignation Immigration New York City
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