The former lead prosecutor on Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption case admitted in private text messages that it was “plausible” that the former Manhattan US attorney who indicted Hizzoner had a “political motive,” the Justice Department revealed in a bombshell filing Friday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Principal Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove cited the text messages from “AUSA-1” – Hagan Scotten – in a filing with Manhattan federal court Judge Dale Ho in arguing that the case against Adams should be dismissed, but with the door left open to future prosecution.
“[US Attorney-1] obviously has political ambitions, and I think suggesting we doubt that just costs us credibility,” Scotten allegedly wrote to his team at the Southern District in response to Jan. 22 letter from ex-US Attorney Danielle Sassoon addressing an op-ed written by her predecessor, Damian Williams, about the Adams case.
Scotten, a Republican ex-Marine known as one of the office’s rising star conservatives, further wrote that it was “pretty plausible” that Williams “had a political motive in bringing this case,” according to the DOJ.
“AUSA-1 explained that he hoped to ‘distance’ the SDNY prosecution team from US
Attorney-1, ‘enough that [Judge] Ho and [President] Trump will know we don’t approve of what he did, but not so much that we magnify the scandal,’” the filing continued.
Scotten couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Friday night.
He resigned last month instead of complying with a DOJ order to drop the case against Adams.
“Any assistant US attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way,” Scotten wrote in a blistering resignation letter.
“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” he fumed.
