Newly unsealed court documents offer an unprecedented look at the internal deliberations within the U.S. Department of Justice as federal prosecutors built, and then struggled to salvage, their corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
According to Associated Press, the records detail the intense political pressure prosecutors faced from the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, culminating in an order to dismiss the case.
The documents, made public this week, include a draft memo by former interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who resigned in protest on Feb. 13 rather than follow a directive from Justice Department leadership to drop the charges against Adams. Sassoon’s memo contains candid observations and frustration over the department’s handling of the case, the news agency said.
According to Sassoon, Emil Bove, the Justice Department’s third-ranking official, indicated as early as Jan. 27 that he planned to dismiss the corruption charges against Adams. This was four days before a closed-door meeting with prosecutors, Adams’ legal team, and Justice Department officials. At that meeting, Sassoon and her team were given just 40 minutes to present their case. She alleges that Bove then ordered one of her prosecutors to shred notes from the meeting and failed to allow discussion of critical elements of the case, the AP reported.
Adams’ lawyers were given an equal 40 minutes but focused their argument on the mayor’s ability to govern and his role in assisting Trump’s immigration policies. Sassoon criticized this approach, arguing that such considerations should not determine whether criminal charges proceed.
Bove formally ordered the case’s dismissal on Feb. 10, citing political interference and claiming the case distracted Adams, a Democrat, from helping the Trump administration’s policy efforts.
The Justice Department submitted Sassoon’s draft memo and related documents to the court under seal on March 7 in an attempt to persuade Judge Dale E. Ho to dismiss the case. However, Ho ordered their release after media organizations sought their disclosure, the AP said.
Adams, who pleaded not guilty in September, faces allegations of accepting over $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks, including from a Turkish official. He is also facing multiple challengers in June’s Democratic primary. His legal team has suggested that the case was politically motivated retaliation for his criticism of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, an assertion prosecutors have denied.
