On October 20, 1973, President Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. The next in line, Solicitor General Robert Bork, fired Cox. That became known as the Saturday Night Massacre. It did not work out too well for either Nixon or Bork. Nixon resigned as president ten months later and Bork’s nomination to be a justice to the United States Supreme Court was rejected by the Senate.
On February 13, 2025, a situation occurred that has been called by many the Thursday Afternoon Massacre.
This occurred as a result of the request made by the acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove on February 10, to dismiss the pending criminal charges against Mayor Adams without prejudice until after the November 2025 mayoral election and not to do any additional investigatory steps. Bove claimed that the integrity of the proceeding had been compromised, and having these charges make it impossible for the mayor to devote full attention and resources to illegal immigration. The procedure is to make an application before the district court judge who is handling the case.
After the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, received the request, she wrote an eight-page letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on February 12, explaining why she could not do what was requested. She refuted Bove’s arguments. She offered to meet with Bondi or asked if the attorney general would reconsider the request. If not, she would resign.
She mentioned that the office was preparing to file additional criminal charges against the mayor, including an obstruction charge based on evidence that Adams destroyed and instructed others to destroy evidence and provide false information to the FBI. She noted in a footnote that she had attended a meeting on January 31 with Mr. Bove, Adams’ counsel, and members of her office. Adams’ attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Homeland Security Department enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed. Mr. Bove admonished a member of her team that took notes and directed the collection of the notes at the meetings’ conclusion.
Attorney General Bondi did not meet with Sassoon. Instead, Bove wrote a letter on February 13, accepting Sassoon’s resignation and taking the case away from the U.S. Attorney and sending it to the Public Integrity Unit in Washington. He also put the assistant United States attorneys involved in the case on leave, pending investigations by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Professional Responsibility, at the conclusion of which the attorney general will determine whether termination or some other action is appropriate.
That did not work out too well for Bove. On February 13, when the case was sent to the Public Integrity Section in the Department of Justice in Washington, five attorneys in the Public Integrity Section resigned. This included the acting head of the Public Integrity Section and the criminal division. The next day, he threatened all 22 members of the Public Integrity Section: If none of them would file a motion (file papers with the court requesting the court to do something), all of them would be fired. One of them filed the papers to spare his colleagues.
Hagan Scotten, an assistant U.S. attorney in the South District, also resigned on February 13. He noted that “any assistant US attorney would know that our laws and tradition do not allow using prosecutorial power to influence … elected officials in that way. If no lawyer within earshot of the president is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will find someone who is enough of a fool or a coward to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
I cannot do justice in addressing the legal and ethical issues involved as to why this request was problematic. The fact that so many prosecutors decided to resign instead of just signing off on the request which is subject to the judge’s decision shows how horrible this request was.
Also, it is important to know some of the players. Emil Bove was Trump’s attorney. He is the same guy going after FBI agents who worked on January 6 cases.
Danielle Sassoon is a Ramaz graduate who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia and is a member of the conservative Federalist Society. Hagan Scotten clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The filed papers were only four pages long and short on facts. I would not be surprised if the judge sets the case for a hearing and directs Bove and others involved to testify. Much of what has gone on is in the documents that have been published. Just what we know makes it look bad for the DOJ and Bove in particular. The Court will have access to more records.
I also predict that the Court will not accept the deal. I expect the judge to excoriate Bove for his conduct. It is possible that the judge will be so outraged that the Court could ask the Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate Bove’s conduct.
As for Adams, there is pressure on the governor to fire the mayor. I think the mayor is safe, at least until the hearing. It would depend on what evidence is presented and the Court’s ruling.
We live in times where there are few profiles in courage. The prosecutors who abided by their duty as prosecutors and did the right thing by resigning will be looked upon favorably just like the attorneys who resigned in the Saturday Night Massacre. Bove and his ilk will not.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
