NEW YORK — On Tuesday, three federal prosecutors who previously worked on the now-abandoned corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams tendered their resignations. They cited pressure to admit to misconduct or regret as conditions for reinstatement as the reason for their departure.
In their resignation letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the prosecutors, Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom, firmly stated, “We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none.” These assistant U.S. attorneys had faced a suspension after several prosecutors in both New York and Washington declined to follow directives to dismiss the case against Mayor Adams, a member of the Democratic Party.
The letter was widely circulated by news outlets, and a person who received it confirmed its authenticity. These resignations took place on the same day as the swearing-in of Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as the chief prosecutor of New York’s office.
Mayor Adams was indicted last year. The charges alleged that he accepted illicit campaign donations and travel benefits from a Turkish official and others in return for political influence during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president. In February, after Donald Trump took office, the Justice Department directed then-acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to withdraw the charges against Adams. This decision was not based on the case’s merits but rather to enable the mayor’s support for Trump’s immigration policies.
Unable to comply with this politically motivated directive, Sassoon chose to step down, joined by several other career prosecutors who opposed the decision. Ultimately, the case was dismissed in April.
In their letter, Cohen, Rohrbach, and Wikstrom revealed one of Blanche’s conditions for their return to work involved acknowledging regret and accepting wrongdoing by their office in their resistance to dismiss the case. They expressed concerns that the leadership in the Justice Department had prioritized compliance over legal and ethical responsibilities, a stance they strongly opposed.
Todd Blanche defended the dismissal, asserting that “there was nothing illegal or unethical about dismissing the flawed prosecution against Mayor Adams.” He criticized any contrary claims, particularly those from the former prosecutors, as incorrect and misleading.
Previously, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove argued that Adams was targeted for prosecution due to his vocal criticism of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. In his dismissal of the case, Judge Dale E. Ho remarked that the record clearly showed the prosecutors adhered strictly to guidelines and had no improper intentions.