Updated February 14, 2025 at 19:42 PM ET
The U.S. Justice Department formally moved to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams Friday night, capping days of uncertainty and chaos that led to the biggest mass resignation at the agency in recent memory.
The motion, filed in federal court in New York, was signed by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Antoinette Bacon, a supervisor in the criminal division, and Edward Sullivan, a senior litigation counsel in the public integrity section.
Bove, who most recently served as a defense lawyer for Donald Trump, had ordered the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan to drop the case. His order backfired and prompted the resignations of seven experienced prosecutors who quit rather than obey what they cast as an ill-advised and even unlawful directive.
Earlier in the day Friday, Bove held a meeting with attorneys in the public integrity section, where he pressed to find a career lawyer to participate in the Adams case. Eventually, Sullivan complied. He previously drew national attention amid the fallout from the DOJ's failed prosecution against late Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.
At least seven prosecutors 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.
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