In a new episode of the CAFE Insider podcast, Joyce Vance and CAFE Contributor Elie Honig, former SDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney, discuss the turmoil at the Department of Justice stemming from the Trump administration’s decision to seek dismissal of the criminal prosecution of NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Joyce and Elie break down:
– The resignations of interim SDNY U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten, and leaders of DOJ’s public integrity unit after they refused to comply with acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s mandate to dismiss the Adams case;
– The alleged quid pro quo between the Trump administration and Adams, as alleged by Sassoon in a letter in which she accused Bove of seeking dismissal of the Adams case to further President Trump’s hardline immigration policies; and
– The procedure for federal prosecutors to seek dismissal of criminal charges and the upcoming court hearing on the Adams dismissal request.
Preet Bharara:
Hey folks, Preet here. Unless you’ve been living in a cave on Mars, you’ve been seeing and reading the news coming out of the Department of Justice and the Southern District of New York. The controversy relates to the case against the sitting New York City Mayor Eric Adams. I’ve naturally been inundated with questions. After all, I once led that office. Not only that, but I hired Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney who brought the case. I also hired Emil Bove, the Department of Justice Official who directed SDNY to drop the case, and I hired Danielle Sassoon and Hagan Scotten, who both chose to resign rather than comply with that direction. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to speak about the case because partners from my law firm have represented the mayor in this matter so I can’t get into it, but this is arguably one of the most important legal stories in the country right now.
So guest hosting for me this week is my friend and colleague, Elie Honig. Elie and Joyce will give you their unvarnished views of what’s going on and going down in the Southern District of New York. So now I turn it over to them.
Joyce Vance:
