Mayor Adams’ ability to govern was seriously compromised by a “politicized” prosecution — “directly endangering the lives of millions of New Yorkers” — President Trump’s Justice Department blasted Thursday.
Mayor Adams’ ability to govern was seriously compromised by a “politicized” prosecution — “directly endangering the lives of millions of New Yorkers” — President Trump’s Justice Department blasted Thursday while accepting the bombshell resignation of Manhattan’s US Attorney.
Interim US Attorney Danielle Sassoon unexpectedly quit in a scathing letter that prompted a furious response from the DOJ’s No. 2, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
Bove — who had ordered Sassoon in a Monday memo to dismiss the corruption case against Adams — ripped her as having “no authority” to contest the DOJ’s finding that the investigation and prosecution into the mayor was “weaponized.”
“The Justice Department will not ignore the fact that the timing of charges authorized by a former U.S. Attorney with apparent political aspirations interferes with Mayor Adams’ ability to run a campaign in the 2025 election,” he wrote to Sassoon, referring to her predecessor, former Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams.
Sassoon, in her resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, had argued that the weaponization concerns were “not a basis to dismiss an indictment returned by a duly constituted grand jury.”
The leader of the Southern District of New York — who took over on an interim basis just a few weeks ago — also charged that Adams and the newly-installed DOJ were clearly involved in a “quid pro quo” offer to help Trump’s immigration agenda in exchange for his case being dropped.
“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,” she wrote, explaining why she could not in “good faith” cave to the demand to kill the Adams case.
But Bove shot back that the feds were responsible for “keeping people safe across the country” and that the pending case against the mayor had posed a danger to New Yorkers.
“As a result of the pending prosecution, Mayor Adams is unable to communicate directly and candidly with City officials he is responsible for managing, as well as federal agencies trying to protect the public from national security threats and violent crime,” he wrote, as he accepted her resignation.
“Mayor Adams has been denied a security clearance that limits his access to details of national security issues in the City he was elected to govern and protect. He cannot speak to federal officials regarding imminent security threats to the City. And he cannot fully cooperate with the federal government in the manner he deems appropriate to keep the City and its residents safe,” Bove noted.
“This situation is unacceptable and directly endangers the lives of millions of New Yorkers.”
His directive to drop the case “reflected a determination by the Justice Department that these public safety risks greatly outweigh any interest you have identified,” he told Sassoon.
