A Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Manhattan is resigning her post rather than carry out a Justice Department order to dismiss the criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Danielle R. Sassoon, who has been serving as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and was overseeing the case into Adams, made the announcement on Thursday, The New York Times reported.
“Moments ago, I submitted my resignation to the attorney general. As I told her, it has been my greatest honor to represent the United States and to pursue justice as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York,” Sassoon, a renowned conservative prosecutor, wrote in an email to her office. “It has been a privilege to be your colleague, and I will be watching with pride as you continue your service to the United States.”
Adams, a former NYPD officer elected as a moderate Democrat, was indicted last year on charges of fraud, bribery, and the acceptance of illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors allege he accepted over $100,000 in luxury travel and hotel stays from individuals connected to the Turkish government, and in exchange tried to overrule fire safety regulations to expedite approval of a new high-rise in New York for the Turkish consulate. He is the first New York City mayor to face federal charges while in office.
ALSO READ: 'Making America less safe': Democrats warn of disaster as Trump purges the CIA
The Trump administration, however, has been in talks for weeks to dismiss the case as Adams paid personal visits to Trump's private residence in his Mar-a-Lago country club in South Florida. When senior Justice Department official Emil Bove ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to dismiss the case, he argued the case has "impropoerly interfered" with Adams' re-election campaign. He also noted Adams has been more cooperative on Trump's plans for mass immigration raids than any other New York City politician would be expected to — but denied in the footnotes of the order that there was an explicit quid pro quo.
Some legal analysts have suggested, however, that because the charges are being dismissed without prejudice and without higher-ups reviewing the evidence, Trump has effectively created a situation where they could reinstate the charges at a moment's notice if Adams is perceived as no longer loyal or useful to the administration.