Lawrence on Trump's DOJ crisis: 'The principled resignation era is now upon us. How many more?' - The Last Word - MSNBC

[Rhiannon12866]

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell details the principled resignations of six prosecutors who refused the Trump Justice Department’s order to dismiss the criminal case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, starting with Danielle Sassoon, whose eight page letter arguing against dropping the case was "filled with brave defiance of Emil Bove and Donald Trump's desires." - Aired on 02/13/2025.

[RockRaven]

1. TCF is probably happy with principled resignations. It removes the righteous

and leaves behind the mewling and the corrupt, and saves him the effort of sifting through them all to figure out who is who.

Since these righteous resignations don't actually cause any consequences from the very few real checks on his power, there is no immediate downside for him -- and he is all about immediate gratification.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. I had very thoughts about this, he's losing those who oppose him - when in reality we need more of them

It blows my mind that actual senators who took an oath to support the Constitution are now supporting his unconstitutional orders, let alone voting to confirm the absolute worst possible nominations for national departments who have negative qualifications.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. A total of six DOJ lawyers have resigned

Link to tweet

[Rhiannon12866]

4. When the truth is we need many more in office who oppose him and his harmful and unconstitutional behavior

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. It is very unusual to see this many resignations

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. DOJ order to drop Eric Adams case sparks at least 6 prosecutors to resign

Mass resignations among leading federal prosecutors are rare, but that's what happened in the DOJ's handling of the New York City mayor's case.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3li5ekgadfs2b

Hey, Republicans, if you're still interested in politicized law enforcement and a "weaponized" federal justice system, can we talk about the Eric Adams case?

Wait, what do you mean you're no longer interested?

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/sassoon-prosecutors-resign-eric-adams-case-rcna192195

Mass resignations among leading federal prosecutors are extraordinarily rare. In fact, there’s really only one dramatic example from modern American history: The “Saturday Night Massacre“ that resulted from Richard Nixon’s effort to oust special prosecutor Archibald Cox, shortly before the Republican president resigned in disgrace.

A half-century later, the public was confronted with what some have already labeled “the Thursday afternoon massacre.” NBC News reported:

The top federal prosecutor in New York and two senior federal prosecutors in Washington have resigned after they refused to follow a Justice Department order to drop the corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, multiple officials said Thursday. The resignations amount to a stunning public rebuke of the Trump administration’s new Justice Department leadership in one of the country’s highest-profile criminal cases.

At last count, at least six prosecutors, including the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, have stepped down over this week’s Justice Department order in the Adams case......

Nevertheless, when Justice Department officials also tried to move the Adams case to the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., John Keller, the acting head of the Public Integrity Section, reportedly refused to drop the case against Adams and resigned. According to NBC News’ report, three other members of the section also resigned.

The total number of resignations apparently reached six when Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, also refused to drop the charges against the New York mayor and resigned.

In the interest of context, let’s also note that Sassoon is a registered Republican, a Federalist Society member, and a lawyer who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. She’s not, in other words, a progressive Biden appointee who somehow stuck around after Trump’s inauguration.

Time will tell what happens next in the case, but to the extent that Republicans are still desperate to find evidence of politicized law enforcement, and a “weaponized” federal justice system, this looks like a story they should find awfully interesting.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. I love this resignation letter

This is a truly amazing resignation letter

Link to tweet

This last line made me smile