The US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, resigned Thursday in response to an order by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop a case against New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams.

Sassoon spearheaded a corruption case against Adams, alleging a “straw donor scheme” where individuals connected to Adams donated to his campaigns, hoping to maximize the city’s donation-matching system, in exchange for political favors.

Sassoon said that acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove dismissed the charges since Adams would assist in enforcing federal immigration laws. Sassoon stated that “federal prosecutors may not consider a potential defendant’s ‘political associations, activities, or beliefs.'” She warned further that the dismissal of criminal charges in exchange for Adam’s “opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration” is a “breathtaking and dangerous precedent.” 

Another reason Bove cited in ordering the dismissal is the alleged “weaponization of government,” maintaining that charging Adams close to the election period was an indication of former US Attorney Damian Williams’s political motive. Sassoon disagreed, arguing that a grand jury returned an indictment, with no doubt raised in evidence or investigatory integrity by the federal government.

Sassoon stated that dismissing the case under Rule 48(a) of Federal Criminal Procedure is contrary to the public interest and the DOJ’s reputation, regardless of Adam’s consent of the matter. Under Rule 48(a), the government may “with leave of court, dismiss indictment, information, or complaint.” In this context, “leave of court” is defined as obtaining permission from the court to perform the dismissal.

In her resignation letter, Sassoon wrote:

I understand my duty as a prosecutor to mean enforcing the law impartially, and that includes prosecuting a validly returned indictment regardless of whether its dismissal would be politically advantageous, to the defendant or to those who appointed me.

Bove responded to the resignation, stating the resignation was accepted based on Sassoon’s decision to “continue pursuing a politically motivated case despite express instructions to dismiss.” The other Assistant US Attornies, who Bove found to support the prosecution, were also placed on administrative leave by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Professional Responsibility.