Danielle R. Sassoon, Manhattan’s acting U.S. attorney, resigned on Thursday rather than obey a Justice Department order that she drop a corruption case against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, that she had championed, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
The order to dismiss the charges just weeks into President Trump’s second term called into doubt the independence of federal prosecutors under his administration.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately comment and efforts to reach Justice Department officials were not immediately successful.
Ms. Sassoon was a veteran prosecutor whom the administration named last month to head the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York on an interim basis while Mr. Trump’s choice for the job, Jay Clayton, awaited Senate confirmation. She was immediately swept into conversations with Justice Department officials about the criminal case against Mr. Adams.
Mr. Adams was indicted last year on five counts, including bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, stemming from an investigation that began in 2021. Mr. Adams had pleaded not guilty and was scheduled for trial in April.
But the Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Emil Bove III, directed Ms. Sassoon to dismiss the case and to cease all further investigative steps against Mr. Adams until a review could be conducted by the Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney, presumably Mr. Clayton, after the mayoral election in November.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
