President Trump on Friday shrugged the resignation of a top prosecutor involved in the case against New York City mayor Eric Adams.
Trump was asked about the controversy surrounding the Adams incident. Interim US prosecutors for Manhattan and several other federal prosecutors resigned after the Justice Department directed them to dismiss the corruption charges against Adams.
“I don't know about that,” Trump said in his oval office. “Obviously, I'm not involved in it, but I'll say this. If they had problems and these were mainly people from the previous administration, you understand. They weren't there anyway. They were all going to go away or be rejected… all you're doing is because you came in and you put in new people.
“So when you say you've resigned, they're probably gone anyway,” Trump continued. “But I don't know anything about the individual cases. I know they didn't feel that way. They also felt that it was unfair in the election.”
Trump compared Adams' legal light letter to his own, and told reporters “I know that better than anyone else.” Trump was charged in 2023 in four separate cases, including two federal cases.
Daniel Sasson, a US lawyer representing the Southern District of New York, resigned from his post Thursday afternoon. Trump argued that Sasson and others came from the previous administration, but Sasson was writing for former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and was appointed by Trump's team to her position.
In a letter of resignation to Attorney General Pam Bondy, Sasson said Adams' lawyers “repeated to urge the equivalent of Quid Pro, and only assist Adams in department enforcement priorities only if the charges are dismissed. It shows that we are in a position.”
Adams was indicted under Damien Williams in September last year. The indictment continued through Adams's acceptance throughout most of his political career, seeking bribery, dating back at least to 2014 and throughout his mayoral campaign in 2021 and his tenure as mayor.
The mayor opposed the charges and suggested that he was politically motivated by his criticism of the Biden administration's immigration policy. Rhetoric has repeatedly Trump accused the Biden administration of indicting him on political grounds.
Adams appeared in Fox & Friends on Friday morning along with Trump's “border emperor” Tom Homan. Homan referenced the “consensus” during his appearance, suggesting that he would pest Adams if the mayor did not follow him.
The mayor issued a statement Friday denying that Quid Pro Quo, which is involved in the charges against him, has been repealed.
“I want to be clear with the New Yorker. I never offered anyone on my behalf – my authority as your mayor for the end of my case. A deal. Never,” Adams said. “I only see the 8.3 million New Yorkers I represent, and I always put this city first.
“Now we can put this difficult episode behind us, helping us to restore trust, and we can continue to move forward and deliver for the people of this city,” he said. I added.
