Danielle Sassoon Defends Her Integrity in Court, Denies Promising Leniency in FTX-Linked Case

Danielle Sassoon, the former interim U.S. attorney who resigned rather than bow to Justice Department orders to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, testified in Manhattan federal court Thursday to defend her reputation and disputes that she ever promised leniency to a woman tied to the FTX scandal.

Sassoon, now in private practice and a graduate of Harvard College (2008) and Yale Law School (2011) who once clerked for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, testified for more than an hour. Defense lawyers for Michelle Bond argued that prosecutors had implied Bond would not be charged if her partner, Ryan Salame, pleaded guilty. Sassoon rejected that claim and said she repeatedly told Bond's lawyers no such deal was possible.

I'm not in the business of gotcha or tricking people into pleading guilty, Sassoon told the court as U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels looked on.

The hearing centers on allegations that Bond, of Potomac, Maryland, participated in a scheme to funnel FTX funds to support her unsuccessful 2022 congressional primary campaign on eastern Long Island. Prosecutors allege Bond and Salame arranged a sham consulting agreement that resulted in Bond receiving roughly $400,000 shortly after launching her campaign. Bond has pleaded not guilty to multiple campaign finance charges, including conspiracy to cause unlawful contributions and using a conduit for contributions.

Bond's lawyers contend prosecutors secured Salame's guilty plea — to campaign finance and illegal money-transmitting charges — by promising not to prosecute Bond, then obtaining the plea through what they call "stealth and deception." Salame, a former executive at FTX Digital Markets, pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison and is scheduled for release in September 2030. He was not a central witness in the prosecution of Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted and later sentenced to 25 years in prison after FTX's collapse in late 2022.

Sassoon testified she believed the suggestion of a promise was a negotiating tactic by Salame's team and said that if they truly believed a binding assurance had been made, they would have raised it with her directly. The hearing is expected to continue next month with additional testimony.

Regardless of the outcome of this civil hearing, Sassoon's resignation last winter highlighted tensions between her office and the Justice Department over the decision to pursue and then ultimately dismiss the corruption case against Mayor Adams after Washington-based prosecutors intervened.