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DOJ line prosecutors resign citing Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Career prosecutors choose ethics over orders in largest Justice Department protest ever·March 20, 2025

Seven federal prosecutors resigned in February 2025 rather than follow orders from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to dismiss federal criminal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The resignations included acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten from the Southern District of New York, and five attorneys from the DOJ's Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., including acting Criminal Division head Kevin Driscoll and acting Public Integrity chief John Keller. In April 2025, three additional federal prosecutors resigned after refusing to admit wrongdoing in their conduct for prosecuting Adams. A veteran prosecutor in Washington, D.C. also resigned on March 14, 2025, after refusing to follow an order he believed was unsupported by law.

Key facts

On Feb. 13, 2025, acting Deputy AG Emil Bove ordered SDNY prosecutors to drop the federal public-corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams; by Feb. 14, seven prosecutors had resigned rather than comply, including acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and AUSA Hagan Scotten from SDNY and five DOJ Public Integrity Section attorneys including acting Criminal Division head Kevin Driscoll and acting Public Integrity chief John Keller

In April 2025, three more SDNY prosecutors — Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom — resigned after DOJ demanded they admit to wrongdoing as a precondition for returning from administrative leave

On April 2, 2025, Judge Dale Ho dismissed the Adams corruption indictment with prejudice, meaning charges cannot be refiled — overriding DOJ's request to dismiss without prejudice

Resigning attorneys cited ABA Model Rule 5.2, which allows subordinate lawyers to refuse assignments that violate law or professional ethics, and 28 U.S.C. § 530B, which binds federal prosecutors to state ethics rules

Over 900 former federal prosecutors signed an open letter urging current DOJ staff to uphold the rule of law; law professor Juliet Sorensen called the episode the Saturday Night Massacre 'on steroids'

Sassoon's resignation letter alleged Adams' attorney proposed a quid pro quo — dropping charges in exchange for Adams' cooperation with Trump administration immigration enforcement priorities