Danielle Sassoon's quiet return to the spotlight

Danielle Sassoon's first public appearance underscored the caution and fear in the legal community four months into Donald Trump’s second term as president.

It had the makings of a significant news event — the first public appearance of a former U.S. attorney who resigned in protest after defying the Trump administration. But the panel featuring Danielle Sassoon proved most notable for how careful she and a famed former New York prosecutor were in avoiding any direct remarks about the president or his Justice Department.

The New York City Bar Association event underscored the unease, public silence and caution hovering over much of the legal community four months into Donald Trump’s second term as president. A former federal prosecutor who now works at a large law firm summed up the dynamic in one word: “Fear.”

“People are keeping their heads down,” said the lawyer, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation from Trump. “Scared of being audited. Scared of being investigated. The federal government is very powerful.”

Sassoon was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan until February, when she resigned rather than carry out orders from Trump appointees in the Justice Department to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. A half dozen other federal prosecutors in New York and Washington subsequently refused to drop the charges and resigned in one of the highest-profile public rebukes of a president since Watergate.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Capitol Hill on March 5.Rod Lamkey, Jr. / AP fileOn Tuesday, a dozen reporters and a smattering of camera crews descended on the New York City Bar Association’s majestic, six-story neoclassical headquarters. A routine continuing legal education event focused on female lawyers specializing in white-collar crime drew attention for one reason: Sassoon.