Dem
47
GOP
53
In case you just tuned into this soap opera, here is a summary up through Friday. The villain, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), is trying to prove that New York politicians are just as corrupt as New Jersey ones, but can be bought far cheaper (no gold bars required) and are thus a better bargain. Adams is none too sharp and SDNY indicted him for conspiracy, bribery, fraud, soliciting foreign campaign donations, and other counts. Donald Trump, who is trying to prove that Florida politicians' corruption exceeds those of the northern states, is trying to offer Adams a Get Out of Jail Free card in exchange for his helping to round up people in NYC to deport. Adams happily accepted, so Trump ordered acting Deputy AG Emil Bove (Trump's former defense lawyer) to drop the case. Formally, this has to be done by the judge in the case, Dale Ho. Bove ordered acting U.S. Attorney for the SDNY Danielle Sassoon, a conservative Republican who clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, to do it. She refused to play politics, sent Bove a detailed stinging letter explaining why dropping the case would violate the oath she took, and resigned. So did another of her SDNY colleagues and five lawyers in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.
In case you're wondering how Republicans in Congress are reacting to losing conservative career prosecutors after the DAG offered a quid pro quo to Adams, they're doing what one is supposed to do during an earthquake: duck and cover.
On Friday, the latest episode aired. Bove met with the attorneys in the public integrity section of the DoJ and gave them an ultimatum: They had an hour to find someone to sign off on the dismissal request or they would lose their jobs. After discussing it, a senior litigation attorney nearing retirement agreed to sign to protect the younger lawyers. The request for dismissal was filed Friday night. Of course, the only one who should actually lose his job is Bove, for these incredibly unethical actions.
Now Judge Ho has to decide how to handle this. He will probably hold some kind of hearing and make Bove answer some tough questions. If he finds the request to be improper or in bad faith, he can deny it. He can also refer Bove to the Office of Professional Responsibility for further inquiry. Bove's law license could also be at risk for unethical and corrupt conduct and abuse of power.
You win some, you lose some. In the Florida Mar-a-Lago documents case, Trump pulled the amoral Judge Aileen Cannon, who threw the case out on the grounds that all special prosecutors are unconstitutional because they weren't confirmed by the Senate. She is the first judge in 50 years to think like this. Out of the box, Aileen!
Ho looks to be a less "lucky" draw. He was born in California and graduated from Princeton and Yale Law School with honors. For those readers not in academia, these are considered to be respectable backups if a person cannot get into UCLA or Berkeley. After graduation, Ho clerked for Judge Barbara Jones, who now has been monitoring the entire Trump Organization since 2022. Ho later had a leadership position in the ACLU and ran a racial justice clinic at NYU. Joe Biden nominated him as a judge in the SDNY in 2021. During Ho's confirmation hearing, Republicans dumped all over him for being a "wild-eyed sort of leftist," presenting as evidence things he had said and written. The conservative Judicial Crisis Network was so afraid of Ho that it launched a $300,000 TV ad campaign against him. Nevertheless, he was confirmed 50-49. Ho would probably not be Bove's first pick for the judge, but this is what he is getting. Ho will apply the law. He will not play games.
Seven former US Attorneys from SDNY also weighed in to praise Sassoon for her bravery and take Bove to task for threatening to investigate her, writing: "Her commitment to integrity and the rule of law reflects the finest traditions of the Southern District United States attorney's office and the Department of Justice." The former U.S. attorneys who signed the letter were Mary Jo White, Robert B. Fiske Jr., John S. Martin Jr., James B. Comey, David N. Kelley, Geoffrey Berman and Audrey Strauss.
Lurking in the background is a New York State law that gives the governor the power to remove mayors for cause. Many politicians are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to ask Adams to resign, and if he refuses, to use her power to remove him. No mayor has ever been removed this way, so there is no precedent, but the law is unambiguous. Hochul has the power. Hochul has said she is reviewing her options.
Among the people calling for Adams to resign or be removed are Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado (D-NY), NYC Comptroller Brad Lander (D), State Sens. Michael Gianaris, John Liu, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos (all D), state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (D), and former DNC Vice Chair Michael Blake, among others. Most national Democrats are keeping their powder dry—so far. Exceptions are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laura Gillen, both New York Democrats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is channelling his inner Susan Collins and saying he is "concerned."
Adams claims he is innocent, is not part of a quid-pro-quo scheme, and is not going anywhere. From his point of view, if he resigns, he will no longer be of use to Trump and Trump will also be furious that Adams double-crossed him, so the open-and-shut case will be prosecuted and Adams will spend decades in prison. Resigning has no upside for him.
Hochul is in a bind. There is no question she could fire Adams. But how? She would have to give him due process or he would fight his removal in court. She would have to figure this out on the fly. For example, she could hold a "trial," ideally presided over by the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, Rowan Wilson. The prosecution could be led by some city leader—for example, the speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne Adams (no relation to the mayor). Adams could pick whomever he wanted to lead his team. After each side presents its arguments, Hochul would render the verdict. Given an arrangement like this, Adams would not have much basis for winning a subsequent court case.
Suppose Adams resigns or is removed. What then? New York City has plenty of vice, but does not have a vice mayor. The city charter lays out the order of succession. First in that line is Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Next is Comptroller Brad Lander. If either became acting mayor, he could run for a full term in November. In fact, Lander is already running.
Hochul is well aware of who Williams is, since he ran against her for governor in 2022 and lost. We doubt she has forgotten. Hochul is also well aware that Williams has long been a strong critic of Israel and supporter of the Gazans. If he becomes mayor and runs for a full term, his past positions on the Middle East could be a problem for him. New York City uses ranked-choice voting for mayor and some other offices. Voters can pick up to five candidates, ranked from 1 to 5. This could allow voters who don't like Williams' positions on the Middle East to vote for someone else as #1 and then Williams as #2 or #3.
Hochul herself is up for reelection in 2026 and her reelection is by no means a done deal. One or more politicians unhappy with her decision about Adams could challenge her, either in the primary or general election. Her decision is bound to be a major campaign issue she will have to defend. Depending on what happens next, a downstream consequence of all this could be a Republican mayor of NYC in Jan. 2026 and a Republican governor of New York State in Jan. 2027. A heavy weight is resting on Hochul's shoulders. She really needs to get this one right. (V & L)