The best American prosecutor in Manhattan resigned for days after the US Ministry of Justice said that the office had rejected the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Danielle Sassoon, a conservative lawyer recently promoted by Donald Trump, said the rejection of the case would set up a “stunning and dangerous precedent”.
Adams allegedly accepted gifts in the total amount of more than 100,000 USD (£ 75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for service, such as renunciation of security regulations in the Turkish consulate in the city. Denies the charges.
On Monday, the Ministry of Justice’s officer said that the case “limited” the mayor’s ability to deal with “illegal immigration and violent crime” in the city.
Emil Bove’s command, the acting prosecutor’s deputy, did not deal with the basis of the case against Adams, Democrats, and noted that the department would maintain the right to renovate the charges after the November mayor’s election in November.
Sassoon, however, refused to give up on the case, on Thursday he set his reasoning in a letter to Bove’s boss, Pamo Bonda Attorney General.
“Because the law does not support the dismissal, and since I am convinced that Adams has committed the crimes with which he has been charged, I cannot agree to be requested by dismissal guided by irregular considerations,” she wrote.
Sassoon said that she had a duty of impartial law of law, “and this includes the prosecution of a validly returned indictment, regardless of whether his release will be politically useful, defendant or those who named me.”
Bove shot into a letter that accepted her resignation. He accused Sassoon of trying to “continue to follow politically motivated criminal persecution, despite the explicit instructions for rejecting the case.”
He also said that other prosecutors who worked on the Adams case would be put on leave and subject to an internal investigation – and that Sassoon would investigate.
The Mayor of New York met Trump in Florida for days before his inauguration, and then attended his ceremony on January 20th. At the time, Adams denied that he had talked about his legal issues with an incoming president.
Later on Thursday, Trump told reporters that he did not ask that the case against Adams would be rejected.
However, Bove’s letter described his instructions as “direct commands that implement politics by a properly elected president.”
On Thursday, Adams also met Trump’s “border emperor” Tom Homan to discuss the immigration of administration. After the meeting, he said he would allow the federal immigration authorities to re -establish an office in the city prison on the island of Rikers.
In a statement, Adams said, “I want to work with a new federal administration, not war with them, to find common ground and improve the life of New Yorkers.”
Adams was charged in September 2024 for charges of fraud from wires, bribery and receiving a campaign contribution from foreigners.
According to the 57-page indictment, the mayor allegedly accepted more than hotel residences, lavish meals and upgrading airlines from Turkish nationals starting 2016, when he was President of the New York City Borough from Brooklyn.
In one case, Adams reportedly paid $ 600 for a two -day luxury hotel in Istanbul, a visit that was estimated at about $ 7,000.
