Federal prosecutor resigns rather than drop NYC mayor charges

Interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon on Thursday resigned rather than drop criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the Associated Press reported. WORLD reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice to confirm Sassoon’s resignation and the circumstances surrounding it, but did not immediately receive a response.

What happened? Earlier this week, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked federal prosecutors in New York to drop criminal corruption charges against Adams. Adams has denied wrongdoing. Bove said that the charges were motivated by Adams’ opposition to some of the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Additionally, Adams is running for reelection and the charges were preventing him from effectively campaigning, Bove alleged. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order calling for an end to political prosecutions.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Adams pleading not guilty to the charges against him.