The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), leading to the resignation of Daniel Sassoon, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Sassoon, who oversaw federal crime investigations across the Southern District, including the case against Adams, stepped down in protest against the DOJ’s decision.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that Sassoon submitted his resignation on Thursday afternoon. In his resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon stated that Adams’ legal team had repeatedly applied pressure, suggesting that dismissing the case could secure the mayor’s cooperation with the Trump administration on immigration policies.

Sassoon expressed his dismay over what he described as a “rushed and superficial process” that appeared to have been influenced by negotiations with Adams’ legal representatives. He further criticized the DOJ for finalizing the dismissal arguments without his direct input. The case, which marked the first indictment of a sitting New York City mayor in modern history, had originally been filed last year when the DOJ charged Adams with public corruption. Adams, a Democrat, had denied any wrongdoing, and the case was set to go to trial this spring.

Sassoon’s legal background includes graduating from Harvard College before earning a law degree from Yale Law School in 2011. He subsequently clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III and former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a noted conservative jurist.

Before his role in the Southern District of New York, Sassoon worked as a litigation attorney at a Washington, D.C. law firm and served as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, where he led a seminar on Supreme Court matters. He has also contributed to The Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization.

Sassoon joined the DOJ in 2016 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He was assigned to the Violent and Organized Crime Unit, handling murder and racketeering cases. Over time, he also took on leadership roles in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and served as co-chief of criminal appeals.

His resignation has sparked debate among legal experts, with some arguing that the DOJ’s move undermines prosecutorial independence, while others see it as a necessary action to prevent political interference in legal proceedings. The controversy surrounding Adams’ case and Sassoon’s resignation continues to unfold, raising questions about the balance between justice and political influence.