Read Danielle Sassoon's Letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi ...

1

Sassoon in her subject line references the criminal case number of the Eric Adams prosecution that she has been ordered — and is refusing — to drop.

2

Emil Bove, Trump's former defense lawyer and now a top Justice Department official, ordered Sassoon to drop the case against Adams "without prejudice." That means it can be resurrected later, which critics say means Trump will have ongoing leverage over the mayor and New York City. A judge would have to approve the dismissal, but that step is usually a given

3

Sassoon, only weeks into her job as interim U.S. attorney, has decided to take a stand that she knows will likely cost her the job. She tells Bondi that she can't "in good faith" obey an order that she believes is not in the public interest or consistent with her values of fairness.

4

Our justice system is supposed to be impartial, Sassoon writes, but she says Bove's order would grant him leniency solely because he holds a powerful position and can assist in Trump's immigration crackdown. She also suggests that Bove has committed misconduct by using the case to coerce Adams to help Trump.

5

This is remarkable language in which Sassoon accuses Bove and Adams of engaging in a quid pro quo to drop the case, calling it a "breathtaking and dangerous precedent."

6

According to Sassoon, when this quid pro quo was discussed in a recent meeting, Bove criticized one of her staff members for taking notes and collected those notes at the end.

7

While Bove has said the case was brought too close to this year's mayoral primary, Sassoon says that the nine-month window was "entirely appropriate," consistent with Justice Department policies and other cases involving elected officials.

8

Sassoon drops a bit of bomb here, at least to anyone outside the Justice Department. She says that prosecutors in her office have sought permission to add obstruction conspiracy charges against Adams for destroying evidence and instructing others to lie to the F.B.I. That request for a superseding indictment was apparently not approved.

9

While judges normally approve requests by prosecutors to drop cases, Sassoon may be sending a message here to the judge in Adams's case, Dale E. Ho, by explaining the reasons why she thinks that he may not go along so easily.

10

Sassoon, who has reviewed the evidence in the case that has not been made public, says she is "confident" Adams committed the crimes he was charged with — despite the mayor's assertions of his innocence.

11

Sassoon reminds Bondi of the attorney general's own recent order calling on prosecutors to make "good faith" arguments supporting the administration's positions — which she says she can't do here.

12

Asking for a meeting with Bondi, Sassoon — who says she was left out of what was effectively a negotiation about her case between Bove and Adams's lawyers — offers to resign rather than go along, as she ultimately would.