Three additional federal prosecutors have resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York in the aftermath of the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropping its case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).
Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday accusing the DOJ of requiring them to “express regret and admit some wrongdoing” in refusing to move to drop the case in exchange for being restored from administrative leave, multiple outlets reported.
“We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none,” they said.
The three prosecutors wrote they have served under presidents of both parties and have advanced their priorities while pursuing justice. They said prosecutors don’t set policy but must follow the Constitution and the country’s laws, benefiting the public in giving it faith in the justice system, the department in having credibility and the prosecutors in being able to “ethically carry out their duties.”
“Now, the Department has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington,” they said. “That is wrong.”
The resignations are just the latest after a series of others who stepped down from the office in February over the move to drop the corruption case against Adams. The embattled mayor faced charges of bribery and wire fraud stemming from allegations that he accepted bribes from businessmen and a Turkish government official before and during his time as mayor.
Adams denied the allegations and alleged that he was targeted for political reasons because of disagreements with the Biden administration. After acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and others resigned from the office over their refusal to make a motion to drop the case, the DOJ eventually found a prosecutor who made the motion.
The motion notably did not argue the merits of the case but argued that it had interfered with Adams’s ability to address the administration’s priorities on immigration and crime. Sassoon alleged a “quid pro quo” occurred between the Trump administration and Adams.
A federal judge allowed the case to be dropped earlier this month after expressing significant skepticism about the motion.
Cohen, Rohrbach and Wikstrom were placed on leave over their refusal to drop the case.
“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,” the prosecutors said. “We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs. We resign.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
