Eric Adams case roils the Justice Department : NPR

The turmoil inside the Justice Department intensified Friday after several top prosecutors resigned rather than obey orders to dismiss a political corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

At least seven prosecutors have resigned in New York and Washington. The list includes Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who said she was baffled by the idea of walking away from such a strong case when her office had been planning to add new charges against Adams. Five lawyers tied to the public integrity unit in Washington, D.C., also resigned rather than carry out an order to abandon the Adams case.

This was followed by a resignation letter that sent shockwaves through the legal community: Prosecutor Hagan Scotten, who earned two Bronze medals for his military service and who clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, wrote he does not have negative views about the Trump administration. But he said any prosecutor knows the laws and tradition would not allow using the enormous power of the Justice Department to lean on elected officials.

“I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion,” Scotten wrote in his letter. “But it was never going to be me.”

Former Justice officials stunned

Former Justice Department veterans, including Republicans, are aghast at the developments.

They are furious with Emil Bove, the No. 2 at the department who used to be Trump’s defense attorney, for being heavy handed with the prosecutors in New York and Washington. One former official said the scandal was worse than Watergate.

Another former official asked: “What kinds of political appointees would go work for this Justice Department now?”

The man at the heart of the fallout

Adams, the man at the center of the fallout, was indicted last year on corruption charges, with a trial scheduled for April. He was charged with conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and soliciting contributions from foreign nationals. He’s pleaded not guilty.

Adams’ lawyer has flatly rejected the idea the mayor has a deal with the Justice Department where Adams would go along with tough immigration tactics and the Justice Department would drop the case against him for now.

But since the election, Adams has worked to cozy up to President Trump and on Friday he pledged to cooperate with the Trump administration’s tough immigration enforcement strategy. Adams appeared on Fox and Friends Friday morning with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who appeared to talk about an agreement, which the prosecutors in New York flagged as an enormous legal and ethical problem.

“If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York city, and we won’t be sitting on the couch, ‘I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'” Homan said.

Adams responded: “We’re going to deliver for the safety of the people of this city.”

Ultimately it’s not up to the Department of Justice to dismiss the case against Adams. That’s something Judge Dale Ho will have to do. The judge may want to hold a hearing first where he could put some of these Justice Department officials on the spot about what kind of deal they may have had with Adams.