created by mowotlarx on 02/02/2025 at 14:45 UTC
97 upvotes, 5 top-level comments (showing 5)
Comment by mowotlarx at 02/02/2025 at 14:47 UTC
85 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Danielle R. Sassoon, the Southern District of New York’s interim United States attorney, was unequivocal: There was “concrete evidence” of crimes by Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, and his claims that his prosecution was politically motivated were meant to divert attention “from the evidence of his guilt.”
Ms. Sassoon’s vigorous defense of the corruption charges against Mr. Adams came last month in a letter filed in her name with the judge overseeing Mr. Adams’s case in Manhattan federal court. But senior Justice Department officials have raised the possibility of dropping the charges altogether and on Friday, Ms. Sassoon was in Washington to discuss the prospect.
Now Ms. Sassoon, who last month was placed in the top prosecutor’s post by the Trump administration, may face a crucial decision. The Southern District is the nation’s most prestigious U.S. attorney’s office, handling complex and challenging cases involving high finance, national security and public corruption. It has a reputation for independence and for fending off interference, particularly from officials in Washington.
As a reminder, current leadership was appointed by Trump. Current Trump appointed leadership confirmed a week ago that the charges weren't political (investigation predated the migrant crisis) and they uncovered more crimes. They were ready to drop *more indictments* before Trump stepped in. Trump and his people know with certainty that Adams committed *many* crimes. Any move to dismiss *is actual proof that didn't exist from that past administration* that there had been a politicization of the justice system.
Comment by ChocolateAndCognac at 02/02/2025 at 17:01 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
"I am the mayor, and I lack the props of a mayor. I am a disembodied ghost. Here I am with a great many typical characteristics, many strong characteristics which have not disappeared throughout my life, decades of martyrdom and wandering, and at the same time I lack the props which characterize every mayor.
I ask today: 'What are the Poles? What are the French? What are the Swiss?' When that is asked, everyone points to a country, to certain institutions, to parliamentary institutions, and the man in the street will know exactly what it is. He has a passport.
If you ask who Eric Adams is - well, he is a man who has to offer a long explanation for his existence, and any person who has to offer an explanation as to what he is, is always suspect - and from suspicion there is only one step to hatred or contempt."
-NYC Mayor Eric Adams on his legal troubles.
Comment by NetQuarterLatte at 02/02/2025 at 15:08 UTC*
8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Ms. Sassoon, 38, who joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2016, is best known for the successful fraud prosecution and 2023 conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried[1], the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Will Ms. Sassoon explain why in the hell the USA ***gave away*** ***the right***, in the extradition agreement with the Bahamas, to prosecute Sam Bankman-Fried over charges related to illegal political contributions?
And would Professor Roth give a statement of opinion about that?
Source: this whole thing obviously got buried **https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/17/us/politics/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations-doj.html[2]**[3]
2: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/17/us/politics/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations-doj.html
3: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/17/us/politics/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations-doj.html
In the days after Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested[4] on Monday and charged[5] with violations including a major campaign finance scheme, the prosecutors reached out to representatives for campaigns and committees that had received millions of dollars from Mr. Bankman-Fried, his colleagues and their companies.
4: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/business/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-bahamas.html
5: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/13/us/samuel-bankman-fried-indictment.html
Comment by NetQuarterLatte at 02/02/2025 at 14:56 UTC*
-31 upvotes, 5 direct replies
There was “concrete evidence” of crimes by Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, and his claims that his prosecution was politically motivated were meant to divert attention “from the evidence of his guilt.”
To be fair, the inclusion of inflated room upgrades in the indictment and the likes effectively made your case look pretty stretchy.
And you kind of cornered yourself into having to file *some case*, because after so many raids, including the raid that happened *while Eric Adams was en route to DC to complain about the migrant crisis*, if you didn't file any case, that would totally expose you.
Anyhow, if we are being really honest, we got to admit the Biden admin was obviously trying to use the legal case to stop Adams from complaining further about the migrant crisis in NYC. So even if there is a case here (still subject to due process), the *timing* of it was pretty damning.
It's better to just be honest and say that this was all justified in the name of “saving democracy", after all, Eric Adams wasn't toeing the line to help contain the political fallouts of a federal border and immigration policy that was damaging to NYC and country-wide unpopular.
And even if other D mayors complained about the migrant crisis, a NYC mayor traveling to DC to echo the talking points of R governors about the migrant crisis (which was genuinely damaging our city) was deemed as a bridge too far.
Dropping the charges without good cause, Professor Roth said, “would be totally demoralizing for the professionals who work there — to everybody who has been trained in a culture of following the facts and the law, **without regard to political influence or favor**.”
Comment by bobbacklund11235 at 02/02/2025 at 20:04 UTC
-10 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Oh, so that’s the only wrong thing the Manhattan DAs have ever done. Not let 82-timesarrested man out for an 83 time so he can beat someone’s grandma over the head with a golf club