A seventh prosecutor resigned from the Department of Justice over its push to drop New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption charges Friday, writing only a “fool” or a “coward” would comply with the move—widening the upheaval over the Adams charges, which critics say the DOJ wants to drop in exchange for Adams’ help with immigration enforcement.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, second from left, leaves the courthouse in New York, Oct. 2, 2024.
In a scathing resignation letter sent to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, lead Adams prosecutor Hagan Scotten said, “any assistant U.S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way,” according to a copy obtained by CNN.
Scotten also wrote, “I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” adding: “But it was never going to be me.”
Scotten’s resignation came the day after acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon—and five other DOJ prosecutors—resigned in protest of Bove’s order to throw out the charges against Adams.
In her resignation letter, Sassoon told President Donald Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi she “remain(ed) baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached,” and equated it to a “quid pro quo.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
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DOJ Asks Prosecutors To Dismiss Charges Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams (Forbes)
Seventh prosecutor in Eric Adams case resigns and calls out Trump’s former lawyer in scathing letter (CNN)