US Attorney Explains in Letter Why She Refused to Drop Charges Against NYC Mayor

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove had ordered Danielle Sassoon to drop the charges, saying the the fairness of the proceedings had been jeopardized.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall following a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming "border czar" Tom Homan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo

A U.S. attorney who just resigned said she refused to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams because she felt the motivation for stopping the prosecution was improper.

“Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” Danielle Sassoon, a Republican who was acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) at the time, wrote in a Feb. 12 letter.