Mayor Eric Adams coming into federal courtroom for a listening to on the Justice Division’s movement to dismiss his federal corruption case. Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
The three prosecutors — Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom — mentioned they’re leaving the US Lawyer’s workplace within the Southern District of New York somewhat than comply with Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche’s “precondition” for holding their posts. They mentioned Blanche had demanded that they “admit wrongdoing” in refusing a February order from one other prime DOJ official — Emil Bove — to drop Adams’ fees with a view to be taken off of administrative go away and return to work.
“It is now clear that one of the preconditions that you placed on our returning to the office is that we must express regret and admit wrongdoing by the office in connection with the refusal to move to dismiss the case,” they mentioned within the missive. “We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none.”
The prosecutors additionally charged that whereas each Democratic and Republican administrations they labored for understood their prime precedence was upholding the legislation, that’s not the case with Trump’s second DOJ.
“The department has decided that obedience supercedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington,” they mentioned. “This is wrong.”
The newest wave of resignations got here on the identical day that Trump’s newly appointed Manhattan US Lawyer, Jay Clayton, took workplace in an interim capability till he’s confirmed by the US Senate.
With the departure of the three prosecutors, a complete of 11 in each New York and Washington have now determined to step down over Bove’s order to scuttle Adams’ case.
Amongst those that resigned in protest had been former interim SDNY US Lawyer Danielle Sassoon, a Trump appointee, and former lead prosecutor on Adams’ case, Hagan Scotten.
Regardless of the string of exits, Trump’s DOJ succeeded in getting federal district Choose Dale Ho to rule in favor of dropping Adams’ case earlier this month. Nonetheless, Ho discovered that there was “zero evidence” that federal prosecutors acted improperly in bringing the case towards Adams, despite the fact that Trump’s DOJ used alleged prosecutorial misconduct as one in every of its causes for tossing the fees.
Shortly after resigning, Sassoon despatched a bombshell letter to US Lawyer Common Pam Bondi alleging that Bove and Adams’ protection legal professional, Alex Spiro, entered right into a quid professional quo. She contended that Spiro exchanged Adams’ cooperation with implementing Trump’s immigration crackdown within the 5 boroughs for dismissing his case.
Adams, Spiro, and prime DOJ officers denied that there was any such deal.
Nonetheless, Ho appeared to agree with Sassoon in his determination, writing: “Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.”
