US Attorney Explains Decision to Maintain Charges Against New York City Mayor
Sassoon resigned following the directive, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY.
A U.S. attorney who recently resigned stated that she could not dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams due to her belief that the rationale for halting the prosecution was inappropriate.
“Since the law does not support a dismissal and I am confident that Adams has committed the offenses he is charged with, I cannot agree to pursue a dismissal based on improper motivations,” Danielle Sassoon, a Republican who was serving as acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), wrote in a letter dated February 12.
In 2024, while President Joe Biden was still in office, Adams, a Democrat, faced charges for accepting illegal campaign contributions.
He also remarked that prosecuting Adams would hinder the mayor’s ability to address illegal immigration, a key focus of the Trump administration.
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In her letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, revealed after her resignation, Sassoon stated that she could not comply with Bove’s order, who was one of her superiors.
“I recognize my responsibility as a prosecutor to enforce the law without bias, which entails pursuing a validly returned indictment regardless of whether its dismissal would be politically beneficial, either to the defendant or those who appointed me,” Sassoon wrote.
“It sets a dangerous and alarming precedent to reward Adams’s opportunistic and inconsistent commitments regarding immigration and other policy issues with the dismissal of a criminal indictment,” she further noted.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not provide a response to inquiries for comments.
Sassoon became the acting U.S. attorney for the SDNY shortly after Trump was inaugurated on January 20. Former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who resigned after Trump won the 2024 election, had brought charges against Adams.
Bove communicated to Sassoon on Thursday that he accepted her resignation.
“Your office lacks the authority to challenge the weaponization finding,” he asserted. “The Justice Department will not tolerate insubordination.”
Bove worked for SDNY from 2012 to 2021. He moved to private practice and later joined the legal team defending Trump against criminal accusations in New York, before rejoining the government after Trump commenced his second term.
Sassoon has been succeeded by Matthew Podolsky, who had recently been appointed as the deputy U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY, as stated by a spokesman for the office in an email to The Epoch Times. Podolsky is currently serving in an acting capacity.
Trump has expressed intentions to nominate former U.S. Securities and Exchange Chairman Jay Clayton for a permanent position heading the office.
Reuters contributed to this report.
