After a standoff between career prosecutors and top Trump appointees that resulted in a wave of resignations and exposed deep divisions over the department’s pursuit of politically sensitive cases, the Justice Department reportedly requested that a judge dismiss the bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday.
Edward Sullivan, a seasoned prosecutor in the Justice Department’s public integrity section, signed the filing in Manhattan federal court.
In response to an ultimatum from Emil Bove, the department’s interim No. 2 official, he had previously consented to include his name on the document in order to safeguard his colleagues.
The department stated that it desired to retain the ability to reopen the case at a later date, which would provide the Trump administration with significant influence over the big-city Democrat.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, who is currently presided over the case, will determine the Justice Department’s motion.
Robert Frenchman, a defense attorney in New York, stated that the judge has the option to conduct his own assessment of whether dismissal is warranted.
In protest of Bove’s directive to dismiss the criminal case against Adams, at least seven career prosecutors submitted their resignations.
Danielle Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, resigned on Thursday.
After it became apparent that they were the next in line to handle the request to dismiss the case, five career Justice Department prosecutors followed suit.
Hagan Scotten, the seventh assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan, was responsible for prosecuting the Adams case.
In his resignation letter, Scotten stated that the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss bribery charges as a tactic to persuade the mayor to endorse the administration’s initiatives to combat violent crime and illegal immigration was unjustified.
Bove assumed responsibility for the case when the New York office declined to comply.
He gathered the Justice Department’s entire public integrity section—approximately two dozen lawyers—on Friday in Washington to identify an individual who would execute a court motion to dismiss the case, according to individuals who were familiar with the situation.
Bove informed them that they had an hour to determine who would assume the role during a video call.
According to the individuals, Sullivan consented to do so in order to prevent other career staff in the section from potentially being terminated at the conclusion of that hour.
His decision to include his name on the document was regarded as a courageous action by those who were acquainted with the matter.
For years, Sullivan, senior litigation counsel for the public-integrity section, has been involved in the handling of sensitive public corruption cases.
Bove and Antoinette T. Bacon, the chief of the criminal division at the Justice Department appointed by Trump, also signed the filing.
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