{"id":2402766,"date":"2025-02-14T14:06:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T19:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-adams-prosecutor-resigns-says-only-a-fool-would-drop-case\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T14:06:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T19:06:40","slug":"eric-adams-prosecutor-resigns-says-only-a-fool-would-drop-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-adams-prosecutor-resigns-says-only-a-fool-would-drop-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Adams prosecutor resigns, says only a &#8216;fool&#8217; would drop case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feric-adams-prosecutor-resigns-says-only-a-fool-would-drop-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2402766&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hagan Scotten, an \u2063assistant attorney \u2063for the Southern District of New York, resigned rather\u2064 then comply with an order to drop criminal charges against New York City \u2063Mayor Eric\u200d Adams, \u200clabeling anyone who would comply as a &#8220;fool.&#8221; Scotten&#8217;s resignation followed the declaration from\u2064 Danielle Sassoon, a top prosecutor, who also resigned and refused to \u200cdismiss the case. In his resignation letter, \u2062Scotten criticized the perceived influence of former SDNY head Damian Williams on the \u200dcase, claiming\u200b it undermined the integrity of the prosecution. \u2062he suggested that the federal government may \u200dhave used a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-read-the-memo-provided-to-vp-pence-noting-that-he-has-the-opportunity-to-save-the-country\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Read the Memo Provided to VP Pence Noting that He Has the Opportunity to Save the Country\">quid pro quo<\/a> strategy involving<\/a> the dismissal \u200cof charges in exchange\u200d for cooperation from adams on \u200dimmigration matters. Scotten, who \u200dhas a notable military background \u200band has clerked for supreme\u2063 Court justices, emphasized that using\u2062 prosecutorial power for political purposes \u2063is unacceptable in a democratic society.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Eric Adams prosecutor resigns, says only a &lsquo;fool&rsquo; would drop case in dramatic letter<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1994225\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Hagan Scotten, assistant attorney for the Southern District of New York, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3319941\/manhattan-us-attorney-doj-officials-resign-order-drop-adams-charges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">resigned<\/a> Friday instead of dropping the criminal charges against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">New York<\/a> City Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3320194\/new-york-democrats-pressure-eric-adams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Eric Adams<\/a>, suggesting only a &ldquo;fool&rdquo; would follow the order to drop the case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Scotten said he was never directed to dismiss the charges from head SDNY attorney Danielle Sassoon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3319941\/manhattan-us-attorney-doj-officials-resign-order-drop-adams-charges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"who resigned on Thursday\">who resigned Thursday<\/a>, in a hostile letter to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,&rdquo; Scotten said near the end of the letter. &ldquo;But it was never going to be me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Eric Adams line prosecutor Hagan Scotten, submitting his resignation rather than filing &#8220;dismissal-with-leverage&#8221; motion:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Via&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/941vGrJzYs\">pic.twitter.com\/941vGrJzYs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KlasfeldReports\/status\/1890437516810989726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The former New York prosecutor said he agreed with Sassoon&rsquo;s rationale for her refusal to drop the charges. He called former SDNY attorney Damian Williams&rsquo;s alleged corruption of the case &ldquo;so weak as to be transparently pre-textual.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bove said in his letter to Sassoon that Williams&rsquo;s political activities after he left as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defense-rests-in-ahmaud-arbery-murder-trial\/\" title=\"Defense Rests In Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial\">head prosecutor<\/a>, including an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityandstateny.com\/opinion\/2025\/01\/opinion-indictment-sad-state-new-york-government\/402235\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">op-ed he wrote<\/a> criticizing Adams, tainted the case.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His actions inappropriately politicized and tainted your office&rsquo;s prosecution, potentially permanently,&rdquo; Bove wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He also mentioned Scotten and fellow assistant attorney Derek Wikstrom were being placed on &ldquo;off-duty, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-shoot-and-kill-fleeing-double-amputee-brandishing-knife\/\" title=\"Police Shoot And Kill Fleeing Double Amputee Brandishing Knife\">administrative leave pending investigations<\/a> by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Professional Responsibility.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Scotten also suggested the federal government used a quid pro quo in potentially dismissing the charges in exchange for Adams&rsquo;s immigration cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecutor said he understands why President Donald Trump would want to make a &ldquo;good, if not distasteful, deal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But any assistant U.S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Scotten served multiple combat tours in Iraq as an Army special forces officer, <a href=\"https:\/\/hls.harvard.edu\/today\/on-their-way-to-the-next-adventure-a-look-at-five-new-graduates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">earning<\/a> two Bronze Stars during his career.<\/p>\n<p>He also clerked under conservative Supreme Court justices Brett Kavanaugh and John G. Roberts after graduating from Harvard Law School.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1994225\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1994225\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prosecutor resigns, calls anyone who drops case a &#8216;fool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2402767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/er.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50409,36661,50408],"class_list":["post-2402766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-case-dropped","tag-eric-adams","tag-prosecutor-resigns"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/er.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402766"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402770,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402766\/revisions\/2402770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}