Dear Attorney General Bondi:

On February 14, 2025, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed me and my colleagues at the Public Integrity Section to attend a Microsoft Teams meeting. During that meeting, acting DAG Bove ordered us to identify two Trial Attorneys to sign a motion to dismiss the indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams without prejudice. Four days earlier, in a letter to the then-acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, acting DAG Bove acknowledged that leadership at the Department of Justice reached this conclusion to dismiss the indictment “without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.” During our Teams Meeting, acting DAG Bove alluded to our lower position in the chain of command and suggested that whoever agreed to sign the motion would be rewarded with a position of leadership. He also made clear that there would be professional consequences if the motion was not filed, referencing the actions he took against the career prosecutors in the Southern District of New York who refused to carry out his orders.

I write to notify you that I am resigning as a Trial Attorney with the Public Integrity Section and as an employee with the Department, effective immediately. This is an extremely difficult decision. I have been a federal prosecutor for ten years. I love this job. I love representing my country in federal court. And I love my former colleagues, whose integrity and courage reflects the Department’s best traditions and gives me hope for our section’s future. I cannot work for someone who invokes leadership after forcing dedicated public servants to choose between termination and a dismissal so plainly at odds with core prosecutorial principles. Acting DAG Bove demanded the signature of two Public Integrity Section Trial Attorneys to add legitimacy to a motion that he admitted was not based on the facts or the law. Five of our supervising attorneys resigned rather than convey that order. And many more career prosecutors may have lost their jobs, had a sixth career prosecutor not stepped in to protect the section.

I cannot fathom how anyone would do this to the public servants he is supposed to be leading. And the damage done was not limited to two offices – it appalled prosecutors throughout the Department and our alumni. I do not know whether you will view this as a compliment or a criticism – a fact that underscores why I can no longer serve the Department that I love. But I do know that ensuring justice and protecting our citizens depends entirely on the public servants serving in the Department. You will fail without their support, and they will fail without yours.

It has been the greatest privilege of my life to stand up at the start of every case and announce to the Court, “Ryan Crosswell, on behalf of the United States.” I pray that the Department of Justice remains dedicated to upholding the rule of law evenly, without fear or favor.

Sincerely,

Ryan R. Crosswell
Trial Attorney
Public Integrity Section
Criminal Division
U.S. Department of Justice