Department was seeking dismissal of Mayor Adams’ indictment because it was an
instance of supposed “weaponization,” but offered the barest of evidence for this charge.³
In contrast, Ms. Sassoon’s February 12 memo is an eight-page, detailed explanation of
the merits of the case against Mayor Adams that directly refutes Mr. Bove’s allegations
of impropriety and discusses additional steps that could be taken to address any such
concerns, such as seeking a superseding indictment before a new grand jury. Mr. Bove
also retaliated against the prosecution team in the Adams case for their unwillingness to
comply with the unethical order to dismiss the case by placing them on leave and
referring them to the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Professional
Responsibility for investigation and possible termination.¹
10
The express political purpose of Mr. Bove’s directive is made even clearer by the timing
of Mayor Adams’s February 13 meeting with Tom Homan, President Trump’s “border
czar,” and the subsequent announcement that New York City would assist U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement in carrying out the President’s immigration
agenda.” In a joint media appearance on February 14, Mr. Homan appeared to threaten
Mayor Adams, stating, “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and
we won’t be sitting on the couch I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the
hell is the agreement we came to?”””12
13
On February 14, Hagan Scotten, an Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to Mayor Adams
case, submitted his resignation to Mr. Bove. ¹³ Mr. Scotten’s letter explained that he
agreed with Ms. Sassoon’s decision to refuse Ms. Bove’s order to move to dismiss the
case. Mr. Scotten described Mr. Bove’s “first justification for the motion—that [the
former U.S. Attorney’s] role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by
ample evidence… [as] so weak as to be transparently pretextual.” He further stated: “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. … 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.’
14
8 Id. at 1 (claiming it “cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior Administration’s immigration
policies before the charges were filed, and the former U.S. Attorney’s public actions created appearances of
impropriety that implicate the concerns raised in the Attorney General’s February 5, 2025 memorandum regarding
Restoring The Integrity and Credibility of the Department of Justice”).
9
º Dep’t of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Memorandum from Acting U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon to Attorney General Bondi regarding “United
States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH)” (Feb. 12, 2025) (on file with Committee).
10
Dep’t of Justice Memorandum from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to Acting U.S. Attorney for the
Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon regarding “United States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (S.D.N.Y.)”
(Feb. 13, 2025) (on file with Committee).
¹¹ Luis Ferré-Sadurní, After Meeting with Trump’s Border Czar, Adams Opens Rikers to ICE Agents, N.Y. TIMES
(Feb. 13, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/adams-ice-rikers-homan.html.
12 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Eric Adams Highlights Coordination with Trump’s Border Czar on Fox News, N.Y.
TIMES (Feb. 14, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/nyregion/adams-homan-fox-interview.html.
13
Dep’t of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Letter from Assistant U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York Hagan Scotten to Deputy Attorney General Bove regarding “United
States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH)” (Feb. 14, 2025) (on file with Committee).
14 Id.
3
