Pissed Off Judge Confronts Trump Mayor Scheme

Summary

Legal AF Podcast Summary: "Pissed Off Judge Confronts Trump Mayor Scheme"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Legal AF by MeidasTouch
• Host/Authors: Ben Meiselas, Michael Popak, Karen Friedman Agnifilo
• Executive Producer: Meidas Media Network
• Release Date: February 18, 2025
• Episode Title: Pissed Off Judge Confronts Trump Mayor Scheme

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Introduction

In the February 18, 2025 episode of Legal AF by MeidasTouch, hosts Michael Popak and Danielle Sassoon delve into a burgeoning corruption scandal involving former President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) and New York Mayor Eric Adams. The discussion centers on allegations of an illicit deal between the Trump-era DOJ and Mayor Adams, reportedly orchestrating the dismantling of New York's sanctuary city policies in exchange for the dismissal of Adams' indictment.

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Key Developments

Alleged Corruption Scheme

Michael Popak initiates the conversation by outlining the core of the scandal:

"Donald Trump's administration is swirling the drain concerning a new corruption scandal... this time about Mayor Adams of New York and an unholy deal struck by the Department of Justice under Donald Trump and Mayor Adams." ([00:25])

Danielle Sassoon elaborates on the implications:

"It's going to lead likely to Mayor Adams no longer being Mayor Adams." ([00:36])

The hosts discuss the potential motivations behind the DOJ's actions, suggesting that the Trump administration aimed to bolster their immigration policies by coercing Mayor Adams into compliance.

Role of Judge Dale Ho

A pivotal figure in this unfolding drama is Federal Judge Dale Ho. The hosts question whether Judge Ho will acquiesce to the DOJ's proposed deal or exercise his "inherent authority" to appoint a special prosecutor. Popak posits:

"Is Judge Ho in New York going to go along with the ride, or is he going to use a rare power of a federal judge to appoint a special prosecutor?" ([00:47])

Sassoon emphasizes the seriousness of the DOJ's integrity:

"Finds the Department of Just under Donald Trump so conflicted, so ethically challenged, so corrupt that he can't trust them?" ([00:59])

DOJ's Attempted Deal with Mayor Adams

The hosts dissect the nature of the alleged deal:

"They did, by the way, just to show you this is an amateur hour in the Trump administration." ([02:22])

Popak criticizes the DOJ's transparency and strategy:

"They didn't need to announce the deal. The fact that they were so cocky that they thought they could just announce...'We're gonna cut a deal with Adams.'" ([02:22])

Sassoon further exposes the quid pro quo:

"We're cutting a quid pro quo deal." ([04:03])

This transactional approach, according to the hosts, undermines the integrity of the judicial process and sets a troubling precedent for prosecutorial conduct.

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Legal Implications and Precedent

Inherent Authority of Federal Judges

Popak references the 1987 Young vs. US Vuitton case to support the argument that Judge Ho possesses the authority to appoint a special prosecutor under exceptional circumstances:

"They're allowed to appoint a special prosecutor under the Young case from 1987." ([04:17])

Sassoon underscores the potential for judicial intervention:

"Appointed by a federal judge who believes there is monkey business going on." ([05:25])

The discussion highlights the balance of power and the separation of duties between the judiciary and the executive branch, emphasizing the rare step of a judge taking action independent of the DOJ.

Potential Outcomes

Should Judge Ho decide to appoint a special prosecutor, the hosts anticipate a thorough investigation divorced from the current DOJ's influence:

"Make them look into this unholy deal, this quid pro quo, this transactional of the most scandalous between the Trump administration and Eric Adams and have this special prosecutor report to you, not to the Department of Justice, which is conflicted, which is ethically challenged, which is corrupt." ([05:42])

This move, they argue, would restore public confidence in the criminal justice system by demonstrating accountability and transparency.

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Calls to Action and Broader Implications

Encouraging Judicial Independence

Popak and Sassoon urge Judge Ho to act decisively:

"Now is the time. As Judge Kofador said in Seattle three weeks ago, we want history to look back. We don't want them to say where were the judges and where were the lawyers?" ([09:59] - [10:10])

They advocate for judicial intervention to prevent the erosion of justice:

"Use your inherent authority. Don't dismiss the indictment. Instead, appoint a special prosecutor." ([10:01] - [10:24])

Political Ramifications

The potential resignation of Mayor Adams is discussed as a significant fallout:

"We all got excited about whether Eric Adams is going to resign today or not because four of his deputy mayors... basically the co-mayor all resigned because Eric Adams and the Trump administration are too smart by half." ([11:09])

The hosts highlight the broader impact on New York's political landscape and the integrity of its leadership.

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Conclusion

The episode of Legal AF presents a compelling analysis of the alleged corruption involving the Trump administration and Mayor Eric Adams. Through incisive discussion and strategic referencing of legal precedents, hosts Michael Popak and Danielle Sassoon illuminate the gravity of the situation and the critical role Judge Dale Ho may play in upholding the integrity of the judicial system. The conversation underscores the importance of judicial independence and the necessity of addressing ethical breaches within governmental institutions to maintain public trust.

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Popak [00:25]: "Donald Trump's administration is swirling the drain concerning a new corruption scandal."
• Danielle Sassoon [00:36]: "It's going to lead likely to Mayor Adams no longer being Mayor Adams."
• Michael Popak [04:17]: "They're allowed to appoint a special prosecutor under the Young case from 1987."
• Danielle Sassoon [05:25]: "Appointed by a federal judge who believes there is monkey business going on."
• Michael Popak [09:59]: "Now is the time."

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Stay Informed: For those interested in the latest legal and political developments, subscribe to the Legal AF YouTube channel and join the conversation on their new podcast, POPOC Live, airing Tuesday nights.

Transcript

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[Michael Popak]

Today, Donald Trump's administration is swirling the.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Drain concerning a new corruption scandal.

[Michael Popak]

And we're only four weeks in.

[Danielle Sassoon]

This time about Mayor Adams of New.

[Michael Popak]

York and an unholy deal struck by.

[Danielle Sassoon]

The Department of Justice under Donald Trump and Mayor Adams. It's going to lead likely to Mayor Adams no longer being Mayor Adams.

[Michael Popak]

Question is, is Judge Ho in New.

[Danielle Sassoon]

York going to go along with the.

[Michael Popak]

Ride, or is he going to use.

[Danielle Sassoon]

A rare power of a federal judge, an inherent authority of a federal judge.

[Michael Popak]

To appoint a special prosecutor because he.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Finds the Department of Just under Donald Trump so conflicted, so ethically challenged, so corrupt that he can't trust them?

[Michael Popak]

I'm Michael Popak. You're on the Midas Touch Network and Legal af. Let's get to it. We had a lot of teachable moments.

[Danielle Sassoon]

So far in the Trump administration as.

[Michael Popak]

Relates to Eric Adams. I guess Donald Trump thought maybe the long weekend, it would all go away.

[Danielle Sassoon]

This bad nightmare of his own creation.

[Michael Popak]

To force his Department of Justice, led by apparently Emil Beauvais, Donald Trump's former criminal lawyer, to strike a deal with.

[Danielle Sassoon]

The lawyer for Eric Adams, the embattled mayor who was indicted for his own.

[Michael Popak]

Corruption scandal, and enter a deal to ensure Mayor Adams would dismantle the immigration.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Policy of New York, would dismantle its.

[Michael Popak]

Sanctuary city status, and, and, and do.

[Danielle Sassoon]

The bidding of Donald Trump on his immigration policies. In return, his indictment would magically disappear.

[Michael Popak]

Except it really wouldn't. Except it would be temporarily suspended.

[Danielle Sassoon]

And that's what God, Danielle says.

[Michael Popak]

Soon the acting interim U.S. attorney from Manhattan, all hot and bothered.

[Danielle Sassoon]

She's an arch conservative, she's a federalist, and she said, enough is enough.

[Michael Popak]

I can't do it.

[Danielle Sassoon]

My power, my authority, my constitutional oath.

[Michael Popak]

Says I can't dismiss this case as directed because of the deal that was struck. They did, by the way, just to.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Show you this is an amateur hour.

[Michael Popak]

In the Trump administration.

[Danielle Sassoon]

They didn't need to announce the deal.

[Michael Popak]

The fact that they were so cocky that they thought they could just announce.

[Danielle Sassoon]

We'Re gonna cut a deal with Adams.

[Michael Popak]

He's gonna enforce our immigration policies the way we say. So he's gonna, we're gonna say jump. He's gonna say, how high?

[Danielle Sassoon]

And in return, we're gonna dangle the indictment dismissal sort of, kind of in front of him.

[Michael Popak]

They didn't have to do that. They don't have to have a justification. I mean, they gotta file something in the papers that go to Judge Ho. And the question is, is Judge Dale Ho appointed by Joe Biden, Right. Who had a leading job with the.

[Danielle Sassoon]

American Civil Liberties Union as a civil rights lawyer with the naacp?

[Michael Popak]

Is Dale Ho a liberal, a dyed in the wool liberal who came out of the world of public interest groups like the ACLU and naacp? Is he just going to let the case be dismissed against Eric Adams on a ridiculous grounds?

[Danielle Sassoon]

They didn't need grounds at all.

[Michael Popak]

They could have just said, we found.

[Danielle Sassoon]

It would be in the interest of justice for the indictment to be dismissed.

[Michael Popak]

And left it at that. But no, they felt someone in that administration. Pam Bondi, maybe she's too smart by half. I'm tired of reading these articles about Kamala Harris's word salads at a Broadway show. What about Pam Bondi?

[Danielle Sassoon]

She's the Attorney General.

[Michael Popak]

You think we're watching clear thinking? We're thinking we're watching a syntax that's actually sizzling about legal positions. We're not. They could have just done that. But somebody had the bright idea.

[Danielle Sassoon]

We'll just say the quiet part out loud.

[Michael Popak]

Work.

[Danielle Sassoon]

We're cutting a quid pro quo.

[Michael Popak]

Deal.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Okay.

[Michael Popak]

Now, all roads lead where? To the federal judge. Now, Normally, traditionally, in 99.9% of the time, a federal judge does not have.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Inherent authority to do anything except dismiss an indictment when asked to do so by the executive branch.

[Michael Popak]

That's how our separation of powers works. That's how our checks and balance work.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Prosecutions are the province of the executive branch, headed by one person, the President.

[Michael Popak]

Of the United States Department of Justice.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Executive branch, prosecution, executive branch, grand juries.

[Michael Popak]

Part of the process.

[Danielle Sassoon]

But they report to the executive branch.

[Michael Popak]

A judge, once there is an indictment or about those mechanics, has. Has a role. But 99.9% of the time, that role does not include anything about an indictment. Except there is precedent that I'm going to suggest from 1987, Young versus US Vuitton, that I think stands, could stand for the proposition that a judge, under these unique circumstances could, instead of dismiss the indictment, appoint a special prosecutor. We're back to special prosecutors. Not one through the Attorney General, we know we'll never see that, but one.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Appointed by a federal judge who believes there is monkey business going on.

[Michael Popak]

That's a term of art in our profession. There's monkey business going on with an ethics scandal around the trade off, quid pro quo commercial transaction between Donald Trump and Eric Adams. It stinks. It stinks to high heaven.

[Danielle Sassoon]

That's where a federal judge can use.

[Michael Popak]

Their inherent authority under the Young case from 1987. Now that case dealt with what happens if a judge finds somebody in contempt and for whatever reason, political, probably the executive branch won't prosecute it. That goes to the inherent authority of a judge. When a judge says something like, you.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Need to do this, comply with my order, I'll find you in contempt.

[Michael Popak]

Got to have teeth behind it. So that's what's going to happen here. When, when, just as an aside, when Donald Trump starts flouting the rules and doesn't comply with these 20 or 25.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Preliminary injunctions and other court orders and.

[Michael Popak]

They just thumb their nose at it.

[Danielle Sassoon]

What is a federal judge to do?

[Michael Popak]

I said they're going to need like constables, they're going to have to deputize law enforcement outside of the feds, outside of the executive branch. But what they can also do, and they're allowed to do under this Young case, is they're allowed to appoint a special prosecutor. Not under the executive branch Department of Justice. And that's what I believe they'll do here.

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[Michael Popak]

So I am urging Dale Ho, who is the right person for this job, to stand up. Right now is time.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Now is the time.

[Michael Popak]

As Judge Kofador said in Seattle three weeks ago, we want history to look back. We don't want them to say where.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Were the judges and where were the lawyers?

[Michael Popak]

Where was Judge Ho? Use your inherent authority. Don't dismiss the indictment. Instead, appoint a special prosecutor under your.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Inherent authority of the Young precedent case from 1987.

[Michael Popak]

Make them look into this unholy deal, this quid pro quo, this transactional of the most scandalous between the Trump administration and Eric Adams and have this special prosecutor report to you, not to the Department of Justice, which is conflicted, which is ethically challenged, which is corrupt. That is what should happen. So we all got excited about whether Eric Adams is going to resign today or not because four of his deputy mayors, including the first assistant or the first deputy mayor, basically the co mayor all resigned because, you know, of course, Eric Adams and the Trump administration are too smart by half. They thought, well, we'll, you know, we'll.

[Danielle Sassoon]

We'Ll cut a deal publicly and you'll.

[Michael Popak]

Do my immigration bidding and I'll let you off the hook, sort of, kind of. But if you screw up again, I'm going to re indict you. No, no, you got a federal judge as the last remaining firewall. And that's, and I wanted to kind of bring this to your attention, cuz I think this is what could happen.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Now Governor Hochul has to make her decision.

[Michael Popak]

Is she going to take out what she's allowed to do, this corrupted, conflicted mayor, just based on this deal? She doesn't have to make a call about whether he is or isn't guilty of what he's been indicted for. The foreign, the acceptance of foreign campaign donations from Turkey, the bribes that are alleged, the fraud that's alleged. The new charges that the department wanted.

[Danielle Sassoon]

To bring but isn't going to break.

[Michael Popak]

That's another ground for Judge Ho to step in because Danielle Sassoon, the departing Acting interim U.S. attorney for the Southern.

[Danielle Sassoon]

District of New York, wrote in her.

[Michael Popak]

Nine page letter that they were about to indict Eric Adams again. They sought permission from Washington for the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi.

[Danielle Sassoon]

No, I mean under Donald Trump.

[Michael Popak]

And they said, no, you're not going to indict him. Even though you have evidence of lying to the FBI. You have evidence of, of destroying evidence. Judge Ho has to protect the criminal justice system from this criminal president. He has to, he has to protect the criminal justice system because the public will have, if they haven't already, lost all confidence in it. This is the way to reinstall it. This is the way to instill it. And I'm going to continue to follow it. You're here on the Midas Touch Network. We have a new channel, Legal af.

[Danielle Sassoon]

It's not so new.

[Michael Popak]

It's five months old.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Maybe you missed the early build of.

[Michael Popak]

The Midas Touch network already at 4 million. Right? I was there from almost from the beginning, but maybe you weren't.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Here's your chance to help build a new channel from scratch. Right?

[Michael Popak]

It's a dollar and a dream. We're over on Legal AF, the YouTube channel. Help us get to half a million subscribers. We're trying to get to a million in our first eight months, 500,000 in our first six months.

[Danielle Sassoon]

And we're almost there with your help.

[Michael Popak]

We will get there. Follow me Michael popak on Legal AF.

[Danielle Sassoon]

Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8pm Eastern Time.

[Michael Popak]

And wherever you get your podcast audio from. I got a new podcast, POPOC live, Tuesday night, 45 minutes to an hour.

[Danielle Sassoon]

It's like this, except longer.

[Michael Popak]

So until my next reporting, I'm Michael Pop.

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