Prosecutor in Mayor Adams case says only 'fool' or 'coward' would agree to dismiss charges
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Another lead career prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office has resigned amid pressure from the Justice Department to drop New York Mayor Eric Adams' case, sources confirmed to ABC News.
The prosecutor issued a scathing letter to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove arguing only a "fool" or a "coward" would agree to sign off on the case's dismissal.
"No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives," Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten said in his resignation letter.
Scotten added, "...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. If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me."
Scotten is just one of several top Justice Department officials, including interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, to announce their resignation after a senior Justice Department official directed New York prosecutors to drop the case against Adams, who was accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and bribes of free or discounted travel from people who wanted to buy his influence.
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Sassoon, a Republican, accused the department of acceding to a "quid pro quo" - dropping the case to ensure Adams' help with Trump's immigration agenda - and said she was "confident" the Democratic mayor committed the crimes spelled out in his indictment, and even more.
"The reasons advanced by Mr. Bove for dismissing the indictment are not ones I can in good faith defend as in the public interest and as consistent with the principles of impartiality and fairness that guide my decision-making," Sassoon wrote.
Before the showdown, Sassoon said, prosecutors had been preparing to charge Adams with destroying evidence and instructing others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the FBI.
Mayor Adams' attorney Alex Spiro responded in a statement, taking issue with Sassoon's characterization of rewarding the mayor in exchange for his political cooperation.
"The idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us," he said. "I don't know what 'amounted to' means. We were asked if the case had any bearing on national security and immigration enforcement and we truthfully answered it did."
On Friday, Mayor Adams issued a statement saying he has "never offered - nor did anyone offer on my behalf - any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case."
"I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first," he said. "Now, we must put this difficult episode behind us so that trust can be restored, New York can move forward, and we can continue delivering for the people of this city."
President Trump said he is not involved with the case or the resignations, saying "I know nothing about the individual case. I know that they didn't feel it was much of a case."
He also compared it to his own hush money case calling it "weaponized" and "political" based on the timeline of the case, and criticized DOJ officials who have resigned over the case, saying they were "mostly people from the previous administration," and going to be dismissed.
"It looked to me to be very political. But why didn't they bring this up like four or five weeks ago, six weeks ago or whenever it happened? You know, they just sat around and didn't complain," Trump said. "Then all of a sudden they complain and they know they're all being dismissed anyway. So, you know, so that's the way it is. That's called politics I guess."
Meanwhile, during a press conference on Friday, New York Attorney General called the federal prosecutors who are standing up to the Trump Justice Department "brave."
She called the office's former top prosecutor, Sassoon, "a profile in courage."
James also said discussions are ongoing at the state and local level, as well as privately, about the mayor's "fate."
"At this point in time I'm going to refrain from any comment until such time we complete those discussions and determine the fate of the mayor of the City of New York," James said.
James' comments came at the end of a fiery news conference, where she ripped into the Trump administration and Elon Musk to a rousing applause.
It's still unclear who will take over the Adams case and how soon it might be dropped, sources told ABC News.
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