Former U.S. attorney who refused to drop charges against NYC mayor quietly returns to spotlight
The New York City Bar Association event underscored the unease, public silence and caution hovering over much of the legal community four months into Donald Trump's second term as president. A former federal prosecutor who now works at a large law firm summed up the dynamic in one word: 'Fear.'
'People are keeping their heads down,' said the lawyer, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation from Trump. 'Scared of being audited. Scared of being investigated. The federal government is very powerful.'
Sassoon was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan until February, when she resigned rather than carry out orders from Trump appointees in the Justice Department to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A half dozen other federal prosecutors in New York and Washington subsequently refused to drop the charges and resigned in one of the highest-profile public rebukes of a president since Watergate.
On Tuesday, a dozen reporters and a smattering of camera crews descended on the New York City Bar Association's majestic, six-story neoclassical headquarters. A routine continuing legal education event focused on female lawyers specializing in white-collar crime drew attention for one reason: Sassoon.
In a blue carpeted meeting room lined with mahogany walls and portraits of Supreme Court justices, Sassoon was scheduled to conduct a 45-minute 'fireside chat' with Mary Jo White, the first woman to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Known as an aggressive prosecutor with an independent streak, White oversaw the prosecutions of organized crime leader John Gotti and the leaders of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Jenna Dabbs, herself a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, introduced Sassoon and White and thanked Sassoon for attending the session weeks after giving birth to her third child. Sassoon, dressed in black pants and a black vest, thanked her.
Dabbs then came the closest of any speaker to directly addressing the unprecedented events occurring in the Justice Department under the second Trump administration. She praised Sassoon's brief tenure as the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which handles cases in Manhattan, the Bronx and part of Westchester County, as 'principled, courageous and brave.'
In a protest letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon had said that Adams' lawyer had proposed what amounted to a 'quid pro quo.' Federal prosecutors would drop graft charges against Adams in exchange for Adams' cooperation in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. After Bondi declined to meet with her, Sassoon resigned.
Dabbs said Sassoon had 'upheld the oath' she had taken to defend the Constitution. 'She acquitted herself in a manner reflective of the finest traditions of that office, regrettably at some personal cost,' Dabbs said.
After a warm round of applause, Sassoon asked White about the role mentors had played in her career. White responded that Sassoon herself was now a role model. 'You're that right now,' White said. 'You're an extraordinary lawyer and you're the epitome of integrity and strength.'
White then thanked Sassoon for her conduct in the Adams case without naming Adams, Bondi or Trump. 'You didn't choose to deal with what you had to deal with,' White said. 'But how you handled that was exceptional, and I thank you.'
Sassoon asked White if she came under political pressure during her tenure in 1990s.
'There's obviously a spotlight right now on the relationship between the White House, the DOJ, SDNY, after what happened in the SDNY when I was there — the relationship between politics and prosecution,' Sassoon said. 'How is it different from when you were U.S. attorney?'
White responded carefully and again did not name Trump, Bondi or Adams. 'It's always been an issue,' she said. Speaking in broad strokes, she said the independence of the Southern District, which earned the moniker the 'Sovereign District,' had 'served the public interest very well.'
Asked by Sassoon whether she had any advice for people who serve as U.S. attorneys, White was blunt but vague. 'You should be prepared to resign two or three times,' she said, prompting laughter from the crowd. But White declined to say exactly why she had threatened to resign.
In response to a question from Sassoon about what kind of investigations white-collar defense lawyers could expect, White expressed concern about the DOJ 'Weaponization Working Group' established by Bondi, which critics say is an effort by Trump to take revenge on his perceived enemies.
Again speaking in general terms, White invoked a famed 1940 speech by Attorney General Robert Jackson where he warned federal prosecutors never to abuse their 'immense power' by targeting individuals for political or personal reasons. 'If you ever turn to focusing on a person and trying to find a crime, you've lost your way,' said White.
When Sassoon asked the audience for questions, it quickly became clear that White, not Sassoon, would respond. White answered several questions in general terms and again shied away from mentioning Trump by name.
Asked by a reporter if she had any comment on Bondi's tenure as attorney general, White replied, 'I do not.' With that, the event ended.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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