The dispute within the U.S. Department of Justice over the handling of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has led to a series of resignations among federal prosecutors. Three more prosecutors—Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom—chose to resign yesterday. Their departure marks a further disintegration of the case's prosecutorial team, following their suspension for refusing to comply with top-level DOJ directives to drop charges against Adams. According to a letter seen by NBC News, the prosecutors felt pressured to admit to wrongdoing as a precondition for returning to their positions, a condition they firmly rejected.
"It is now clear that one of the preconditions you have placed on our returning to the Office is that we must express regret and admit some wrongdoing by the Office in connection with the refusal to move to dismiss the case. We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none," the trio stated in their letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. These resignations add to the list of those who have left the DOJ following the controversial decision to drop the case against Adams—bringing the number to at least ten, as indicated by ABC7 New York.
The legal saga began when Adams was indicted on multiple corruption charges, with then-acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon later suggesting that there was an implicit arrangement of mutual support at play. She indicated that Adams' vocal backing of certain Trump administration policies could lead to the dismissal of the case. "Rather than be rewarded, Adams's advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case," Sassoon had argued, as detailed in ABC7 New York.
The legal process reached a key point on April 2 when Judge Dale Ho acquitted Adams, dismissing the case with prejudice. This ruling prevents future prosecution on these charges, which differs from the DOJ's preference for a dismissal without prejudice. The three prosecutors expressed their resignation from a position of principle in their letter obtained by ABC7 New York. "Serving in the Southern District of New York has been an honor. There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs. We resign," they jointly affirmed. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, when approached, declined to comment.
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