In a gripping court testimony, former interim U.S. attorney Danielle Sassoon staunchly defended her ethical standards, resisting pressure in a high-profile case linked to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Her appearance in Manhattan federal court on Thursday detailed her refusal to drop corruption charges against Adams, highlighting her commitment to judicial integrity.
Danielle Sassoon, a Harvard and Yale Law School alumna, took the stand for more than an hour. During her testimony, she was under scrutiny by defense attorneys trying to argue that prosecutors had offered an implicit deal regarding a woman’s involvement in the FTX cryptocurrency scandal.
“I’m not in the business of gotcha or tricking people into pleading guilty,” Sassoon asserted, with Judge George B. Daniels presiding over the proceedings. Sassoon, who previously clerked for late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has since transitioned to private practice.
The controversy stems from her resignation as interim U.S. attorney after defying Justice Department orders to dismiss charges against Mayor Adams. Despite her resignation, the case was eventually abandoned following a request from Washington prosecutors to a federal judge.
The ongoing legal battle involves Michelle Bond, a resident of Potomac, Maryland. Her legal team claims that prosecutors reneged on an agreement not to charge her if her boyfriend, Ryan Salame, pleaded guilty. Salame, former CEO of FTX Digital Markets, admitted guilt to campaign finance violations and illegal money transmission, resulting in a 7 1/2-year prison sentence.
Bond, now married to Salame, faces charges related to unlawful campaign contributions, stemming from allegations of using FTX funds to finance her political ambitions in a 2002 congressional primary. She has pleaded not guilty, maintaining her innocence against the accusations.
During the hearing, Sassoon testified that Salame’s legal team attempted to use supposed prosecutorial promises as a negotiating tactic, stating, “they would have made it directly to me” if they believed it was a genuine agreement.
Despite Salame’s significant role at FTX, he was not a central figure in the government’s case against Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s founder. Bankman-Fried received a 25-year sentence for defrauding FTX customers, and Salame, currently serving his sentence, is projected to be released in 2030.
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