{"id":2402932,"date":"2025-02-15T07:35:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-doj-risks-undermining-its-integrity-with-eric-adams-saga-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T07:36:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:36:05","slug":"trump-doj-risks-undermining-its-integrity-with-eric-adams-saga-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-doj-risks-undermining-its-integrity-with-eric-adams-saga-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump DOJ risks undermining its integrity with Eric Adams saga &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">26<\/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%2Ftrump-doj-risks-undermining-its-integrity-with-eric-adams-saga-washington-examiner%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=2402932&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>The article discusses a significant controversy involving the Department\u200b of Justice (DOJ) during Donald Trump&#8217;s presidency. It\u200b highlights\u2062 how the DOJ, under the direction of acting Deputy Attorney General Emil\u2062 Bove,\u2063 ordered prosecutors \u2063in New \u2062york City to dismiss bribery charges against mayor Eric Adams. This directive was met with\u200b immediate backlash,leading \u200cto\u2064 the resignations\u2063 of two high-ranking prosecutors\u2063 from the Southern District of New York and five officials from\u2064 the DOJ&#8217;s Public\u200b Integrity Section,who refused to comply with\u2064 the\u2063 order. Legal experts from various political backgrounds criticized the move, claiming it damaged the DOJ&#8217;s credibility.<\/p>\n<p>The piece details the circumstances of Adams&#8217; indictment, which accused him of accepting\u200d illegal campaign \u2064contributions and luxury travel in \u200bexchange for favorable treatment. The article also notes the subsequent fallout, including detailed\u2063 resignation letters from the exiting\u2064 prosecutors, the expedited \u200dmanner in which resignations occurred,\u200d and the eventual decision by\u200d other DOJ lawyers to proceed with the dismissal of the case against Adams. Despite\u2064 these events, Adams denied any improper dealings to\u200c influence the case, while Trump&#8217;s management defended the \u2062decision as a necessary\u2062 return to pursuing\u200c serious crimes rather than politically motivated cases.  <\/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\">Trump DOJ risks undermining its integrity with Eric Adams saga<\/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_1994372\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>An appointee of President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a> ordered prosecutors in New York City to sign off on dismissing Mayor Eric Adams&rsquo;s bribery case, but they did not obey, resignations ensued, and legal experts across the political spectrum now say the debacle tainted the Justice Department&rsquo;s credibility.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Two top-tier prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and five officials in the DOJ&rsquo;s Public Integrity Section opted to abruptly leave their jobs in the span of about 24 hours instead of complying with acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove&rsquo;s order to drop Adams&rsquo;s charges.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that this is a great blow to the DOJ&rsquo;s reputation,&rdquo; former federal prosecutor Shan Wu told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>A trio of conservative legal analysts, Ed Whelan, Dan McLaughlin, and Andy McCarthy, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">raised similarly critical views<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Trump&rsquo;s] subordinates tried to cloak this raw political gesture in legally palatable raiments. But the rationale offered was incoherent. Now that it has predictably blown up, they blame the people who wouldn&rsquo;t play along. To say that&rsquo;s not going to work is an understatement,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/predictably-trump-dojs-dropping-of-mayor-adams-case-triggers-resignations-by-sdny-u-s-attorney-and-public-corruption-prosecutors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">wrote<\/a> McCarthy, who worked as an SDNY prosecutor for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n<p>McLaughlin <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/baseballcrank\/status\/1890197228817641554\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> the dismissal of Adams&rsquo;s charges &ldquo;galactically stupid &amp; dangerous policy&rdquo; on the part of the Trump administration, while Whelan <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EdWhelanEPPC\/status\/1890457875685802467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> that the spate of resignations &ldquo;will best end with Emil Bove&rsquo;s.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adams&rsquo;s indictment and Bove&rsquo;s demand<\/h2>\n<p>SDNY brought an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdny\/pr\/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-charged-bribery-and-campaign-finance-offenses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">indictment<\/a> against Adams, a Democrat and former Brooklyn Borough president, last year alleging he accepted illegal campaign donations and luxury international travel from foreign businesspeople and a Turkish government official. He used his political power to offer them &ldquo;favorable treatment&rdquo; in return, the indictment said.<\/p>\n<p>As mayor, Adams was outwardly sympathetic to Republicans&rsquo; tough-on-crime stance. After Trump won his election, the president revealed he was weighing pardoning Adams, who had become an unlikely ally. Trump&rsquo;s DOJ ultimately ordered SDNY to drop Adams&rsquo;s charges.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, attends Manhattan criminal court during Trump&rsquo;s sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon\/Bloomberg via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bove wrote in his directive to acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon that he did not question the merits of the case. Instead, Bove said, the charges must be dropped because former U.S. Attorney Damien Williams had spoken out of line about the case and Adams might not be able to do his job as mayor while enduring court proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;His letter directing Sassoon to drop the case does not stand up to the light of day,&rdquo; former U.S. Attorney John Fishwick told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The fallout<\/h2>\n<p>After days of silence, the resignations came swiftly beginning Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Sassoon and Hagan Scotten, both of whom attended Ivy league law schools and clerked for conservative Supreme Court justices, quit their jobs instead of abiding by the order to dismiss Adams&rsquo;s case. Sassoon, who was appointed by Trump as the acting head of SDNY in January, is a member of the Federalist Society, and Scotten is a Special Forces veteran and Bronze Star recipient.<\/p>\n<p>They excoriated Bove in their resignation letters, which each appeared in the <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Sassoon <a href=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/documenttools\/24535586a908999e\/3801d435-full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revealed<\/a> in hers that during a private meeting she attended, Adams&rsquo;s attorney allegedly offered the Trump administration a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-adams-and-trump-share-legal-windfalls-from-supreme-court-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"... and Trump share legal windfalls from Supreme Court - Washington Examiner\">quid pro quo&#038;rdquo<\/a>; in which Adams would collaborate with Trump on tackling illegal immigration in exchange for Trump dropping his charges. Scotten <a href=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/documenttools\/1ae30693bf1fa571\/6139df80-full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> he understood how Trump, as a businessman, would want to seek a &ldquo;dismissal-with-leverage&rdquo; but that it was unlawful.<\/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. But it was never going to be me,&rdquo; Scotten said.<\/p>\n<p>Bove then turned to the DOJ&rsquo;s Public Integrity Section to carry out the deed, but the No. 1 and 2 career officials there also responded by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/02\/14\/politics\/eric-adams-justice-department-tick-tock\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">quitting<\/a>, according to CNN. Bove summoned three more prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section, who were reportedly out at a bar toasting to their colleagues&rsquo; resignations, and asked them on a video call to dismiss Adams&rsquo;s case. They all quit their jobs on the spot and returned to the bar, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n<p>The Public Integrity Section is &ldquo;the repository for the institutional experience and filter on which cases are meritorious to bring and which aren&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Wu said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s really what&rsquo;s being gutted here.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adams denies &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legislator-says-illinois-senate-president-admitted-to-quid-pro-quo-at-dnc-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Legislator says Illinois Senate president admitted to \u2018...\u2019 at DNC - Washington Examiner\">quid pro quo&#038;rsquo<\/a>;<\/h2>\n<p>Late Friday, a court document revealed that DOJ leadership had found two willing lawyers, Antoinette Bacon and Edward Sullivan, to agree to file the motion to dismiss Adams&rsquo;s case. Bove himself also signed the motion.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall following meeting with President-elect Donald Trump&rsquo;s incoming &ldquo;border czar&rdquo; Tom Homan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;The decision to dismiss the indictment of Eric Adams is yet another indication that this DOJ will return to its core function of prosecuting dangerous criminals, not pursuing politically motivated witch hunts,&rdquo; Attorney General Pam Bondi&rsquo;s chief of staff Chad Mizelle said Friday in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Mizelle said the prosecutors who &ldquo;refused to follow a direct command&rdquo; had &ldquo;no place at DOJ.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump said from the Oval Office, &ldquo;I know that they didn&rsquo;t feel it was much of a case.&rdquo; The president denied having any involvement in the decision to drop Adams&rsquo;s charges.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday morning, Adams and border czar Tom Homan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wy6gmUL-_9I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared<\/a> together on <em>Fox &amp; Friends<\/em> for a joint interview, in which they relayed a jovial and enthusiastic plan for immigration reform. Adams denied leveraging his indictment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Imagine [my lawyer] going inside saying that the only way Mayor Adams is going to assist in immigration, which I was calling for since 2022, is if you drop the charges. That&rsquo;s quid pro quo. That&rsquo;s a crime,&rdquo; Adams said.<\/p>\n<p>Adams added, &ldquo;Come on. This is silly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><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_1994372\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1994372\"}});<\/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>Trump DOJ&#8217;s integrity at risk over Eric Adams case dismissal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2402933,"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\/AP25010532990329.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7076,36661,6983,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2402932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-doj","tag-eric-adams","tag-integrity","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AP25010532990329.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402932","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\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402932"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402936,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402932\/revisions\/2402936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}