[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Standing up for truth by stepping down:

The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan stepped down Thursday — days after President Trump’s Department of Justice ordered her office to drop its corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, sources said.

Danielle Sassoon’s sudden resignation as Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York came days after the DOJ’s No. 2, Emil Bove, directed the veteran prosecutor to move to dismiss the bribery and wire fraud case against Adams.

Here is a portion of Sassoon’s letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi:

Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations. As Justice Robert Jackson explained, “the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” The Federal Prosecutor, 24 J. Am. Jud. Soc’y 18 (“This authority has beengranted by people who really wanted the right thing done—wanted crime eliminated—but also wanted the best in our American traditions preserved.”). I understand my duty as a prosecutor to mean enforcing the law impartially, and that includes prosecuting a validly returned indictment regardless whether its dismissal would be politically advantageous, to the defendant or to those who appointed me. A federal prosecutor “is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all.” Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935).

For the reasons explained above, I do not believe there are reasonable arguments in supportof a Rule 48(a) motion to dismiss a case that is well supported by the evidence and the law. I understand that Mr. Bove disagrees, and I am mindful of your recent order reiterating prosecutors’duty to make good-faith arguments in support of the Executive Branch’s positions. See Feb. 5,2025 Mem. “General Policy Regarding Zealous Advocacy on Behalf of the United States.” But because I do not see any good-faith basis for the proposed position, I cannot make such arguments consistent with my duty of candor. N.Y.R.P.C. 3.3; id. cmt. 2 (“A lawyer acting as an advocate in an adjudicative proceeding has an obligation to present the client’s case with persuasive force.Performance of that duty while maintaining confidences of the client, however, is qualified by the advocate’s duty of candor to the tribunal.”).

A little quid-pro-quo, eh? IOW, business as usual for Trump and company. What to do, what to do…

With that, it’s pretty incredible that Sassoon has so meticulously outlined her position. There really can’t be any doubt of her rightness in this matter. So convinced is she, that she’d rather resign than participate in this foul soup of lies and I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine plan. I am curious as to how Pam Bondi is going to react to Sassoon’s well-cited resources and arguments. Will she just be angry that she has been forced into a tight spot between behaving honorably or satisfying Trump or will she meet with Sassoon? It seems clear where Bove and Adam’s loyalties reside.

Yet another serious resignation letter from a line prosecutor:

Eric Adams line prosecutor Hagan Scotten, submitting his resignation rather than filing "dismissal-with-leverage" motion:

"I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me."

Via… pic.twitter.com/941vGrJzYs

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) February 14, 2025

Wouldn’t it be great if this adherence to integrity and ethics spread to the body politic? From here all the way to Congress.

Second news item

They never skip an opportunity to make money. Ethics is never part of the equation:

“We licensed the upcoming Melania Trump documentary film and series for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it,” said an Amazon spokesman.

The first lady’s cut is more than 70% of the $40 million, according to people familiar with the matter. And they’re still looking for more: Melania’s agent has been trying to sell “sponsorships” for the film—starting at $10 million—to prominent CEOs and billionaires who were at the inauguration, according to people familiar with the matter. Buyers would get thanked at the end of the credits and be invited to the premiere.

Third news item

Conflicting statements from Trump and Vance re Ukraine and NATO:

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Vance said the option of sending US troops to Ukraine was “on the table,” as well as economic punishment if a peace deal doesn’t guarantee Kyiv’s long-term independence.

“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage,” Vance told the newspaper.

On arrival in Munich Vance said NATO remains an important alliance for the United States.

“Europe is of course a very important ally to the United States, NATO is a very important military alliance … but we want to make sure NATO is actually built for the future, and part of that is ensuring that NATO does a little bit more burden-sharing in Europe so the United States can focus on some of our challenges in East Asia,” Vance said, speaking to reporters beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Good to see this from Vance. I suspect Trump will publicly humiliate the vice-president for this breach, sooner rather than later.

P.S. His actual speech before European leaders hit differently. Apparently, Russia or China are *not* the biggest threat around . . .

“The threat I worry most about vis-à-vis Europe isn’t Russia, not China, it’s not any external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values”

Fourth news item

Judge tells Trump “no”:

The Trump administration must temporarily allow the disbursement of foreign aid, a judge ruled Thursday, dealing the latest blow to the administration’s sweeping efforts to halt international aid.

The court order came in response to a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups that work on international aid projects, as well as other organizations.

. . .

The judge said in his ruling that the administration has not yet “meaningfully contested detailed and credible evidence of harm to countless American businesses, ranging from shutting down programs, to furloughing and laying off employees, to shuttering altogether.”

Fifth news item

Incredible. Deport *real* criminal aliens. . . and make sure they don’t sneak back in:

ICE officers in Houston deported Humberto Romero Avila, a 45-year-old Paisas gang member and foreign fugitive who entered the US illegally TEN!!! times, back to Mexico.

Romero is wanted in Mexico for allegedly murdering Geovany Uriel Prado Morales, a 22-year-old Mexican national, Dec. 2, 2007, in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Entries 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5: He entered the US illegally March 22, 2002; June 14, 2002; June 16, 2002; June 20, 2002; and March 3, 2005. Each time, he was kicked back to Mexico the same day he entered.

6. Romero was able to sneak across as a gotaway his sixth time entering the US. Then, ICE found him in 2012 Nacogdoches County Jail after his DUI arrest.

ICE lodged a detainer, took him into custody and deported him days later.

7. However, that didn’t stop him. And again he crossed the border illegally again as a gotaway. ICE found him in Aug. 2013 at the Shelby County Jail following a larceny and DWI arrest.

Read the whole thing.

ADDED

Honoring a hero:

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was killed a year ago. We remember him in his own words. pic.twitter.com/pxf0sMMkOS

— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) February 16, 2025

Have a great weekend.

—Dana