Incompetence or sabotage? Trump DOT yanks prosecutors for damaging leak in NYC congestion toll lawsuit



President Donald Trump's Department of Transportation replaced federal prosecutors who leaked damaging information regarding the administration's plan to terminate New York City's congestion toll.

On Wednesday evening, the Department of Justice lawyers accidentally — they claimed — filed in federal court a confidential memo that undermined the administration's case.

'It's sad to see a premier legal organization continue to fall into such disgrace.'

The 11-page letter, dated April 11, was written by the lawyers and addressed to Sean Duffy, informing the DOT secretary that they believed their case was "exceedingly likely" to fail.

"We have been unable to identify a compelling legal argument to support this position," they wrote.

The prosecutors recommended Duffy form a stronger argument against the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's DOT in February for attempting to put a stop to the congestion toll.

"As discussed below, there is considerable litigation risk in defending the Secretary's February 19, 2025 decision against plaintiffs' claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, that the decision was contrary to law, pretextual, procedurally arbitrary and capricious, and violated due process," the attorneys told Duffy.

The prosecutors suggested that Duffy use Office of Management and Budget regulations to argue the congestion toll should be terminated "as a matter of changed agency priorities." They also stated that the administration could claim that the pricing was based on MTA's funding level needs and not a goal to reduce traffic.

However, the lawyers concluded that both of these arguments were unlikely to convince the court.

Nicholas Biase, a Southern District of New York spokesperson, stated that the filing of the confidential memo "was a completely honest error and was not intentional in any way."

Yet, the DOT questioned whether the leak was deliberate.

Halee Dobbins, a DOT spokesperson, stated, "Are SDNY lawyers on this case incompetent or was this their attempt to RESIST? At the very least, it's legal malpractice."

"It's sad to see a premier legal organization continue to fall into such disgrace," she said. "SDNY's memo doesn't represent reality. [New York Governor] Kathy Hochul's congestion pricing war against the working class was hastily approved by the Biden Administration after Donald Trump was elected."

"Taxpayers already financed the highways that Hochul is now shutting down to the driving public and there is no free alternative. This is unprecedented and illegal. If New York doesn't shut it down, the Department of Transportation is considering halting projects and funding for the state," Dobbins added.

The DOT replaced the attorneys with others in the DOJ's Civil Division.

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Federal prosecutors ditch jobs in a huff, refuse to admit wrongdoing in 'flawed' Eric Adams case



Three federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York resigned in protest on Tuesday. Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom quit after accusing the Trump administration's Department of Justice of pressuring them to admit "wrongdoing" in the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who pleaded not guilty.

The three prosecutors had been placed on administrative leave after Trump's DOJ requested the case's dismissal.

'Any suggestion to the contrary by anybody, especially former federal prosecutors, is wrong and disingenuous.'

According to an email obtained by the New York Times, the prosecutors claimed that DOJ Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that to be reinstated, they "must express regret and admit some wrongdoing by the office in connection with the refusal to move to dismiss the case."

They wrote, "We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none."

The prosecutors claimed that the DOJ under the Trump administration "has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington."

"There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons," the prosecutors continued. "We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs."

"We resign," they declared.

Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the SDNY, took over the same day the prosecutors resigned.

Since Trump's DOJ pushed for the dismissal of the case against Adams in February, five SDNY prosecutors have resigned, including the lead prosecutor assigned to the case.

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho dropped the case with prejudice on April 2.

"To be clear, the Court again emphasizes that it does not express any opinion as to the merits of the case or whether the prosecution of Mayor Adams 'should' move forward," he wrote.

"The Court notes only that it has no authority to require that it continue," Ho continued. "Ultimately, because the decision to discontinue a prosecution belongs primarily to a political branch of government, it is the public's judgment, and not this Court's, that truly matters."

However, he claimed the DOJ's request to dismiss the case "smacks of a bargain" between Adams and the Trump administration. Both parties have denied the allegations.

Blanche stated that there "was nothing 'illegal' or 'unethical'" about the DOJ's decision to drop the "flawed" case.

"Any suggestion to the contrary by anybody, especially former federal prosecutors, is wrong and disingenuous," he contended.

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Judge permanently drops corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams



U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho on Wednesday dropped the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).

In September, under former President Joe Biden, the Southern District of New York charged Adams with a five-count indictment, accusing him of bribery and fraud. It claimed that Adams received $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and other luxury travel perks from a Turkish official.

Adams pleaded not guilty.

'The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place — and finally today that case is gone forever.'

Democrats appeared to turn on Adams after he called out the Biden administration for fueling the nation’s immigration crisis, which put excessive strain on the sanctuary city’s resources. The corruption charges were filed soon after Adams criticized the administration. Some of Adams’ closest staffers also became the target of similar investigations.

In February, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against Adams, which sparked rumors from the mayor’s critics that the mayor and Trump had engaged in a quid pro quo. The Trump administration and Adams have both denied the claims, insisting instead that the mayor, like the president, was a victim of the left’s lawfare.

Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who previously represented Trump in his New York criminal case, argued that the indictments against Adams should be dismissed “based on well-founded concerns regarding weaponization, election interference, and the impediments that the case has imposed on Mayor Adams’ ability to govern and cooperate with federal law enforcement to keep New York City safe.”

In his 78-page decision to dismiss the case with prejudice, Ho wrote, “To be clear, the Court again emphasizes that it does not express any opinion as to the merits of the case or whether the prosecution of Mayor Adams ‘should’ move forward.”

“The Court notes only that it has no authority to require that it continue,” he stated. “Ultimately, because the decision to discontinue a prosecution belongs primarily to a political branch of government, it is the public’s judgment, and not this Court’s, that truly matters.”

Alex Spiro, Adams’ attorney, told Fox News, “The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place — and finally today that case is gone forever.”

“From Day 1, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed,” he added.

Adams is now free to turn his attention to his re-election campaign, where he faces several Democratic challengers, including disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

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