Name: 'It's a really sad day': DOJ officials resign over Trump's order to drop Eric Adams' case - Mattapally Artist Association Inc
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‘It’s a really sad day’: DOJ officials resign over Trump’s order to drop Eric Adams’ case

On February 13, 2025, several top federal prosecutors and Justice Department (DOJ) officials resigned following an order from the Trump administration to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, led the resignations after refusing the order.

The resignations

Danielle Sassoon, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), was the first to resign. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon expressed her belief that dismissing the case was legally baseless and driven by improper considerations, telling her superiors she was “confident that Adams had committed the crimes”.
At least six other senior federal prosecutors also resigned in protest. They included senior officials from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., and two other New York-based prosecutors.
This mass exodus, described by some observers as the “Thursday Night Massacre,” raised concerns about political interference in the DOJ’s independent judicial process.

The dropped case and its aftermath

The case against Adams, filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, alleged that he had accepted bribes from Turkish officials in exchange for political favors and was involved in illegal campaign contributions.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former personal lawyer for Trump, issued the order to drop the charges. He claimed the prosecution was politically motivated and interfered with Adams’s ability to govern and cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The move came after Adams had a series of public and private interactions with Trump, fueling suspicion among critics that a quid pro quo had taken place. Both Adams and the DOJ have denied these allegations.
In April 2025, a federal judge formally dismissed the case but, contrary to the DOJ’s request, did so “with prejudice”. This decision prevents the DOJ from refiling the charges in the future and limits the Trump administration’s potential leverage over Adams.
Despite the dismissal, the controversy politically damaged Adams, who subsequently announced he would run for reelection as an independent rather than seek the Democratic nomination.