#danielle sassoon

Jay Kuo at The Status Kuo:

There was a bloodbath over at the Justice Department, signaling real trouble ahead for the Trump administration. In the first major challenge to Trump’s new Attorney General Pam Bondi, the resignation of acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, a top prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, set off a chain reaction that has shaken the Justice Department to its core. The Department had been planning to drop all charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is facing federal corruption charges and possible new obstruction of justice charges. Lately, Adams has been working hard to curry favor with the Trump White House, and it looked like his efforts were about to pay off. Enter Sassoon, who was in charge of the Adams case. When she learned of the plan to dismiss all charges against Adams, she offered her resignation in a polite but damning letter. In it, she laid out why she could no longer in good faith work for the Department, which had put political considerations above the rule of law. Sassoon wasn’t the only lawyer to quit the Department yesterday. When it tried to hand the case to the Public Integrity Section in D.C., its top lawyers resigned, too, rather than dismiss the charges against Adams. Then more lawyers followed. By the end, six attorneys had quit, dealing a stunning blow to the administration. Normally we don’t get much of a view into the inner workings and politics of the Justice Department. They are usually quite tight lipped. But thanks to Sassoon, we now have a clear picture of what happened and why it’s so indicative not only of the corruption at the very top but also of the high levels of integrity throughout the rest of the Department.

[...] Bove’s main rationale for dismissing the case was a headspinner. He claimed the indictment “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’s ability to devote full attention and resources” to Trump’s efforts to crack down on migrants and had “improperly interfered” with Adams’s re-election campaign. (If that sounds familiar, it’s essentially Trump’s long-held rationale for why charges against him were a “witch hunt” designed to create “election interference.”) In other words, Bove provided only political justifications for dropping the charges, with no rationale related to the actual facts, evidence or law of the case. That memo made big news on Monday, and legal observers assumed, with a sinking feeling in our collective guts, that the matter was finished. Adams had played politics well, and Trump had bitten and apparently ordered his Justice Department to comply. [...] It’s important to know something about Sassoon’s political leanings. She’s a conservative, Federalist Society attorney who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. So this is not some progressive or liberal, though I have no doubt that the MAGA ghouls will try to paint her that way. She was the lawyer the Department picked to head the Southern District of New York, an office so important and so aboveboard that it’s often referred to as the Sovereign District of New York. [...]

Bove fires back

Bove is a real piece of work, and he wasn’t going to let things go quietly. Whether Bondi instructed him to answer or he took it upon himself to do so, his letter responding to Sassoon blasted her personally and her handling of the case, along with her decision not to obey a direct order. Bove didn’t just stop with her. He wrote that the other prosecutors on the case who had worked with her, and apparently supported her position, would be placed on administrative leave, too, for disobeying his command. He threatened them with an investigation by the AG and the Department’s internal investigative unit, both of which would also evaluate Sasson’s conduct, which could be taken as a veiled threat to bring bar disciplinary action. (Bove may want to think twice about this investigation now, as his own conduct might come under the microscope, and the judge overseeing the dismissal could demand some answers about what really went down.) The most telling part of the letter was where Bove placed fealty to the President above all other considerations, including Sasson’s oath to uphold the Constitution. “In no valid sense do you uphold the Constitution by disobeying direct orders implementing the policy of a duly elected President,” he wrote, “and anyone romanticizing that behavior does a disservice to the nature of this work and the public’s perception of our efforts.” [...]

The ensuing bloodbath

This is the point where things got really interesting. After Sassoon resigned, Bove sent the file over to the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department in D.C. There, he expected that the heads of the Section, Kevin O. Driscoll and John Keller, would obey his order and dismiss the case. Instead, they resigned as well. Bove went to other lawyers down the line, including one who reportedly was in the hospital giving birth. The response was the same: We quit. In all, there were six resignations, including Sassoon’s. This is twice the number of people who were sacked when President Nixon ordered the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who was investigating Watergate. They had to go three officials down the line until they got to Robert Bork, who was unprincipled enough to order Cox’s firing. That series of dismissals became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” and it soured the public badly against Nixon who was clearly trying to obstruct the investigation. [...] Moreover, there is significant pressure now on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to exercise her power to remove Adams from office, especially now that there is unrefuted evidence that Adams sought leniency in exchange for throwing migrants in New York under the bus and letting ICE have free rein, in contravention to the city’s existing policies. Indeed, shortly after Sassoon’s resignation on Thursday, following a meeting between Adams and Trump’s new border czar, Thomas Homan, Adams declared he would issue an order allowing ICE agents into the Rikers Island prison complex, signaling a stark departure from the city’s prior sanctuary status. Through all of this, one thing is now crystal clear: This story has gone from a local case of mayoral corruption to a stunning and significant national case of embarrassment for the Justice Department. The resistance to the behavior of top officials, explosively displayed by the mass resignations of top Department lawyers on Thursday, spells real trouble for Bove and Bondi as they seek to bend the entire DOJ to the will of the Trump White House.

Happy to see Danielle Sassoon stand up for the rule of law by refusing to cave in on the Trump DOJ demand to drop the charges against Eric Adams, along with at least 6-7 others who also refused to cave.

See Also:

Talking Feds (Harry Litman): Thursday Night Massacre

Campaign Trails (Kevin Kruse): The Thursday Afternoon Massacre

everyone is entitled to my own opinion (Jeff Tiedrich): prosecutors to Donny: fuck straight off, we’re not dropping Eric Adams’ charges

Trump Official’s Demand in Adams Case Forces Justice Dept. Showdown

A crisis at the department over the Eric Adams case is an early test of the criminal justice system’s resilience against a retribution-minded president and his appointees.

Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency

* * * *

The power of a single voice.

February 14, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

We have all been in a situation where an audience sits in awkward silence as a loudmouth makes rude and offensive comments that disrupt the event. People look nervously at one another for social cues to confirm what everyone is thinking: “This guy is a jerk. Someone should tell him to shut up.”

And then a single voice says, “Be quiet. Sit down. You are ruining it for everyone.” And then a chorus arises, “Sit down! Boo! Hiss!” The power of a single voice can unleash the strength of collective action.

Being the first mover is risky and (depending on the situation) dangerous when the stakes are high. It takes courage and moral conviction. On Thursday, the acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle R. Sassoon, demonstrated courage and moral conviction. She refused to dismiss the indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams—as she had been ordered to do by Emil Bove, the acting US Deputy Attorney General.

Danielle Sassoon explained her decision not to dismiss the charges against Eric Adams in a carefully crafted, respectful, thoughtful letter, which is here: Letter from Danielle R. Sassoon to AG Pamela Bondi.

Everyone should read portions of her letter to appreciate her fine legal analysis and sincerity of her appeal to Pam Bondi. I urge lawyers to read Sassoon’s letter start to finish. It is an outstanding example of legal reasoning that expertly combines clear analysis and deft advocacy while upholding the best traditions of the legal profession.

We should all be proud of Danielle Sassoon. She has taken the first step to remediating the disgrace visited on the legal profession by dozens of Trump's legal sycophants.

Emil Bove accepted Sassoon’s politely tendered offer of resignation in her letter. Bove then went shopping for a lawyer cowardly enough to carry out the corrupt dismissal of the charges against Adams—which Sassoon argued “amounted to a quid pro quo” of dismissal in exchange for cooperating with Trump's lawless immigration raids.

Sassoon wrote in her letter:

I attended a meeting on January 31, 2025, with Mr. Bove, Adams’s counsel, and members of my office. Adams’s attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed. Mr. Bove admonished a member of my team who took notes during that meeting and directed the collection of those notes at the meeting’s conclusion.

Bove believed he could find corruptible lawyers in the DOJ’s Public Integrity unit, so he transferred oversight of the case to D.C. As I write, five lawyers from that unit have resigned rather than carry out Bove’s order to dismiss the well-founded charges of corruption against Eric Adams. See NYTimes, Order to Drop Adams Case Prompts Resignations in New York and Washington. (Accessible to all.)

As I write on Thursday evening, it is not clear when Emil Bove will find a corruptible lawyer to ask the court to enter a corrupt dismissal. Given the number of Trump-appointed prosecutors scattered throughout the nation, he will likely succeed in his quest for a coward. Whoever steps up to perform the corrupt bidding of Bove will go down in history as the Robert Bork of our time—the weakest link in the Department of Justice willing to do the president’s bidding.

The details of this story are much more complicated than I have explained above. For further details, I recommend the NYTimes article. Three important points deserve emphasis before addressing the lessons from this episode.

First, a memo circulated by Emil Bove lends support to Danielle Sassoon’s allegation that the dismissal was a corrupt quid pro quo. As reported by NBC, Emil Bove authored a memo stating that the prosecution against Adams should be dropped, in part, because it “limited Adams' ability to aid Trump's crackdown on immigrants and to fight crime.”

Quid = dismissal of charges; quo = “aiding Trump's crackdown on immigration.”

Second, in an apparent effort to deliver the “quo” for the “quid,” Eric Adams agreed to violate an ordinance passed by the New York City council by agreeing to give ICE agents access to the municipal jail at Rikers Island.

Third, New York Governor Kathleen Hochul has the authority to dismiss Eric Adams, but Hochul told Rachel Maddow on Thursday evening that she would not make a “knee-jerk” decision to do so. Instead, she said she would consider her options after consultation with leaders in New York. See Raw Story, NY gov defies calls to oust Adams despite 'extremely concerning' allegations' — for now

Replacing Eric Adams at this point might lead Emil Bove to withdraw the dismissal request—because as an ex-mayor, Eric Adams would not be able to continue delivering the “quo” for the “quid.” If Adams is no longer mayor, he has no value to Trump, who would no longer care if Adams was prosecuted.

Moreover, if the current request to dismiss the case is withdrawn, the judge presiding over the case will not have cause to investigate whether the request for dismissal is corrupt. But if the DOJ pursues the request for dismissal, US District Judge Dale Ho will likely make an inquiry into whether the request for dismissal promotes the interests of justice.

Such an inquiry could turn into a political embarrassment (or worse) for Emil Bove and others acting at the behest of Trump. Offering to drop a criminal case in exchange for a political benefit may qualify as a bribe, extortion, obstruction of justice, or other criminal conduct.

But the legal details are secondary to the fact that Danielle Sassoon has opened a new front in the resistance against Trump. She follows others who have resigned rather than carry out illegal orders by Trump and Musk, but her stand is the highest-profile act of resistance to date—and one that may have given others in the DOJ the courage to follow her example.

Her stand is the perfect example of why we must use every tool available to resist Trump. We will never know which spark will catch fire and inspire others to join the resistance. But if we create enough sparks, the odds increase that one will be the tipping point to unleash the flood. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors!)

The power of one voice is all it takes to start a wave of resistance. That voice could be yours. Take heart from the events of Thursday and use your voice to urge others to resist and act.

Hegseth tries to walk back comments suggesting that Ukraine must surrender

On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Hegseth shocked everyone (including Trump, apparently) by saying that it was unrealistic to restore Ukraine’s borders to their pre-war status and that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO as part of any settlement.

Hegseth was flamed by everyone, including the White House, for his reckless, shameful abandonment of Ukraine. On Thursday, he said that he “just talking” but that any negotiating decisions would be made by Trump. See The Hill, Hegseth clarifies NATO comments amid criticism and Mediate, Pete Hegseth Roasted Over 'Huge F*ck Up' on Ukraine Policy.

As noted in the Mediate article,

The Economist’s Shashank Joshi added, “Hegseth’s lack of experience is already showing. Publicly makes a series of pre-emptive concessions prior to the most important negotiations in many years, and then has to publicly explain that he had no authority to say any of those things.”

The problem with Hegseth’s comments is that once concessions are uttered in a negotiation, it is impossible to withdraw them—no matter how lame the excuse for making them in the first instance. Pete Hegseth is an amateur who is in over his head. He needs to keep his mouth shut to avoid inflicting more damage.

Judicial efforts to restrain Trump and Musk

A federal judge has extended the ban on Trump's effort to put the entire staff of USAID on leave—a move that would effectively shutter the agency. See The Hill, Federal judge extends block on Trump putting USAID workers on leave. The problem is that all work has ground to a halt at USAID as third party agencies and contractors are frozen by the chaos and indecision at USAID.

Staff are being held in a state of suspended animation, working “at home” in remote locations around the world, unsure of whether USAID will arrange for their return travel to the US. Food is rotting in warehouses and on docks. See The Independent, USAID inspector fired after revealing nearly $500m in food aid was about to spoil amid Trump funding freeze.

The judge who issued the temporary stay seemed skeptical of the union’s claims that workers are suffering irreparable injury, asking why they cannot simply sue for damages if they have been wrongfully terminated.

A lawyer for the union employees responded, “Once the agency is dissolved, it cannot be put back together again.”

And that is Trump's plan: inflict damage that cannot be repaired and worry about the consequences later. Meanwhile, people are dying of disease and starvation as Trump effectively shuts down the work of the agency by blocking “external communications.”

Per The Independent,

$489 million worth of food assistance was at risk of spoilage after the Trump administration issued an unclear aid freeze guidance, ordered staff to refrain from “external communications” and placed more than 90 percent of USAID workforce on paid administrative leave.

In a separate action, another federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore funding to USAID to honor contracts with third party providers. See Reuters, Judge orders US to restore funds for foreign aid programs. But without staff to administer the contracts, restoring the funding may be a futile act.

On Wednesday, a federal judge lifted an order that restrained Trump from firing thousands of federal workers. On Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management authorized the firing of workers who were still within their probationary period. See Politico, Trump administration fires thousands of federal workers.

Per Politico,

Officials would not say how many layoff notices they plan to send, but acknowledged they expect to go well beyond the 77,000 employees who have already accepted offers to leave. The voluntary resignation program — ended after a judge’s ruling Wednesday — culled 3 percent of the workforce, well short of the administration’s 10 percent goal.

Although 77,000 sounds like a large number of employees accepting the “buyout” offer, it is less than the normal attrition that would take place during the eight months covered by the offer. Normal attrition is in the 5% to 6% range, while the buyout offer acceptance rate of 3% over eight months. See Federal News Network, Federal workforce attrition rises back up to pre-pandemic levels. (Attrition was “6.1% and 6% in 2019 and 2018, respectively.”)

The Trump / Musk hatchet job is affecting the judiciary

The judiciary is a co-equal, independent branch of government. Its budget is set by Congress directly and is not managed by the executive branch. The Treasury and GAO do serve as the bank and bookkeeper for the judiciary as a matter of convenience. But the president has no authority over the judiciary or its budget.

But the ham-fisted approach of Musk and Trump to federal cuts is sweeping the judiciary without regard to its independence. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo addresses the issue at length in an article entitled, Judicial Branch Scrambles To Limit Spillover From Trump’s Executive Branch Rampage.

For example, Musk and Trump have inadvertently terminated or frozen leases for judiciary offices and attempted to place executive branch staff in judiciary buildings as part of the forced “return to office” initiatives in the executive branch.

Chief Justice John Roberts plays a role in the budgeting process for the judiciary and must be aware that the Musk / Trump initiatives are impinging on the independence of the federal judiciary. Whether Roberts cares or will do anything is not clear.

Celebrities quit Kennedy Center Board after Trump appoints himself chair

Trump appointed himself chair of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. After announcing that he was appointing himself chair, Trump crowed that he was “unanimously” elected by the board to his self-appointed position.

Part of the reason Trump's election was unanimous was that celebrities began to resign from the board after Trump announced his intention to seize control of the center. See The Hill, Stars flee Kennedy Center groups after Donald Trump seizes chair. Shonda Rhimes, Ben Folds, and Renee Fleming resigned from the board of trustees after Trump’s announcement.

And then Trump dismissed the entire remaining board of trustees (in violation of their six year terms) and appointed his own board of trustees who—unsurprisingly—voted unanimously for Trump to serve as chair.

This is next level weird ****. Again, imagine if Joe Biden dismissed the board of trustees—which would have been heavily represented by Trump appointees—and installed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center. But so far as I can tell, no one in the legacy media is bothered by the fact that Trump is acting like an out-of-control narcissist in the manner of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Kim Jung Un, Putin, Stalin, etc.

Wall Street Journal’s comment on Trump's tariffs and inflation.

Trump announced on Thursday that more “reciprocal” sanctions would be coming next week. See Politico, Trump sets out process for imposing global reciprocal tariffs.

Given the reported spike in inflation in January, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board headlined an editorial with the following, which says it all: ‘Does He Understand Money?’: Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal Slams Donald Trump’s Intellect | The Daily Beast.

Concluding Thoughts

I will host a Substack livestream on Saturday morning, February 15, at 9:00 am PST / 12:00 noon EST. There is no link. Just open the Substack app at the appointed time and you will see a notification that I have opened a livestream session. I will send a reminder email 30 minutes before I start the session.

The resistance within the DOJ is freighted with significance. Danielle Sassoon is a Republican appointee with sterling Republican credentials—a Scalia clerk who is a member of the Federalist Society. And yet she put her loyalty to the Constitution above her loyalty to Donald Trump.

Trump's kryptonite is disloyalty. He melts like the Wicked Witch of the West when people refuse to be bullied. Dannielle Sassoon has demonstrated that there is a path forward that does not involve breaching an oath to defend the Constitution.

The Eric Adams Affair has yet to see its denouement. But we know the outcome. Trump loses. Even if he manages to dismiss the charges against Adams, he has suffered a grievous blow to his air of invincibility. And if he backs down, the sharks will smell blood in the water.

Trump can be defeated. All it takes is a single person with courage and moral conviction to inspire others to action. Each of us should raise our voices—because we cannot know in advance which of those voices will be the spark that sets the resistance aflame.

“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then 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.” — AUSA Hagan Scotten, SDNY

Judd Legum and Noel Sims at Popular Information:

President Trump nominated Emil Bove, his former personal attorney, to be a federal judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals — one of the most powerful judicial roles in the country. Announcing his nomination on May 28, Trump described Bove as "SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone." But an explosive new whistleblower disclosure released Tuesday alleges that, in his current position as a senior official in the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bove is willing to ignore federal law to give Trump what he wants.

The 35-page letter was written by lawyers representing Erez Reuveni, formerly the DOJ's Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Immigration Litigation. In that role, Reuveni was tasked with defending the Trump administration's plan, under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), to summarily deport undocumented immigrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison known for torture and human rights abuses. During a March 14, 2025, meeting, Bove told Reuveni and others that "one or more planes containing individuals subject to the AEA would be taking off over the weekend" – meaning Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16. According to the whistleblower disclosure, Bove stressed "the planes needed to take off no matter what." During the discussion, Bove raised "the possibility that a court order would enjoin those removals before they could be effectuated." In that eventuality, Bove stated that the “DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'fuck you' and ignore any such court order." On March 15, the ACLU "filed suit on behalf of five Venezuelan men facing imminent deportation under the AEA and moved for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent their removal" and the removal of other similarly situated immigrants. During the hearing, two flights destined for El Salvador took off — one at 5:26 p.m. and the second at 5:45 p.m. After listening to arguments from both sides, the judge sided with the plaintiffs at approximately 6:30 p.m. Around 6:48 p.m., Reuveni emailed officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and advised them "the judge specifically ordered us to not remove anyone in the class, and to return anyone in the air." Over the next hour, Reuveni sent numerous emails with the same information to DOJ and DHS officials. He received no response. The court issued a written order "memorializing its TRO" at 7:23 p.m.

On March 16 at 12:23 a.m., Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign told Reuveni that Bove had decided the flights could continue to El Salvador and "no violation of the court order had occurred because the two planes left U.S. airspace before the court's written …order." Further, "Bove had advised DHS that under the court order, it was permissible to deplane individuals on the flights that departed U.S. airspace" before the written order was issued. An order from a federal judge is binding regardless of whether it has been issued in writing. Bove followed through on his threat to ignore the courts so that the Trump administration could complete its scheduled deportations.

[...]

A corrupt bargain

On September 24, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on "bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses." The detailed indictment alleged that Adams "abused his power and position for nearly a decade, obtaining personal benefits and illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and others, giving them undue influence over him." In return for "illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel," the indictment alleges that Adams used his official position to benefit his patrons, including pressuring "the New York City Fire Department to facilitate the opening of a foreign government’s Manhattan skyscraper that had not passed a fire inspection." After Trump took office, Bove directed then-acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon to dismiss the charges against Adams. Bove suggested, without evidence, that Adams was indicted because he "criticized the prior Administration’s immigration policies." Bove said that, in exchange for the dismissal, Adams would provide support for the Trump administration's immigration policy. Sassoon refused to comply with Bove's directive. Instead, she submitted a resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, stating that dismissing the charges against Adams was "inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts." Sassoon said Bove appeared to be arguing that "Adams should receive leniency for federal crimes solely because he occupies an important public position and can use that position to assist in the Administration’s policy priorities."

A second federal prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, also refused Bove's order. In his resignation letter, Scotten wrote, "[O]ur laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way."

[...]

Purging DOJ staff who upheld the law after January 6

Bove issued two memos that described the successful prosecution of hundreds of people who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as a "grave national injustice." In furtherance of an executive order signed by Trump, Bove fired DOJ staffers who were involved in upholding the law.

Unethical Trump lackey Emil Bove has been nominated to a 3rd Circuit Court seat.

Call or email your Senators and tell them to reject the appointment of a dangerous MAGA judicial activist on the court!

See Also:

Marita Vlachou at HuffPost:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday called for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to “be removed” from his position if he refuses voluntarily stepping down after the Justice Department’s order for his corruption charges to be dropped prompted the resignations of several federal prosecutors. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi dated Wednesday, Manhattan U.S. attorney Danielle Sassoon said last month she attended a meeting during which Adams’ legal team “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo” with Trump administration officials, requesting their client’s indictment be dismissed in exchange for him assisting with federal immigration enforcement. Adams’ legal team has denied Sassoon’s allegations. Ocasio-Cortez described Sassoon’s letter as “explosive.” “As long as Trump wields this leverage over Adams, the city is endangered,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We cannot be governed under coercion.” “If Adams won’t resign, he must be removed,” she continued.