By Steve Neavling
Three Manhattan federal prosecutors resigned Tuesday rather than admit wrongdoing for opposing the dismissal of a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The prosecutors — Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom — had been on administrative leave after the Justice Department under the Trump administration pushed to drop bribery and fraud charges against Adams. In a resignation letter obtained by The New York Times, they said they were unwilling to “confess wrongdoing when there was none” and criticized the department for putting “obedience” above legal and ethical obligations.
The Justice Department’s intervention has roiled the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, prompting the departure of at least 11 federal prosecutors this year. The resignations came on the first day for new U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, adding to the office’s instability.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, had made their return conditional on admitting the office mishandled the Adams case. In a statement, Blanche defended the decision to drop the charges, calling the prosecution “flawed” and saying it was wrong to suggest anything improper occurred.
Prosecutors had resisted an order by top Justice official Emil Bove III in February to abandon the case, which reportedly conflicted with the administration’s deportation agenda. After pushback, Bove placed the case’s lead attorneys on leave, and Justice Department lawyers in Washington ultimately filed to dismiss the indictment.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho dropped the case but strongly criticized the department’s actions, writing that the dismissal “smacks of a bargain” tied to immigration policy. He emphasized that the decision was not a judgment on Adams’ guilt or innocence.
In their resignation letter, the prosecutors said they were proud to have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, but that they could not remain in a system where principle took a back seat to politics.
“We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs,” they wrote. “We resign.”
