The Department of Justice moved to dismiss the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s sweeping public corruption case against Mayor Adams late Friday after at least seven people quit rather than obey an order from Trump’s new DOJ leaders to abandon the historic prosecution.

The motion was filed by President Trump’s No. 2 at the Department of Justice, Emil Bove, and two Washington, D.C.-based prosecutors, and follows the stunning resignation of acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon. After receiving an order from Main Justice in Washington, D.C., on Monday directing her to drop the charges, Sassoon quit in protest.

Sassoon wrote to Trump’s new U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that she could not, in good faith, support the effort to dismiss, which she said resulted from an effective “quid pro quo” between the Trump administration and New York City’s mayor, one that would see Adams let off the hook in exchange for giving Trump free rein to carry out his hardline immigration policies in the country’s largest sanctuary city.

The motion reiterated many of the points that had touched off a legal and political firestorm,  arguing the criminal prosecution should be tossed so Adams could better work on immigration initiatives at the heart of Trump’s policy agenda. The Administration’s argument that political necessity should override a criminal proceeding has been seen by many as a fundamental challenge to the rule of law.

The motion also said that Bove had concluded, “among other things,” that the case should be dismissed based on the actions of former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who has been criticized by Adams for creating prejudicial pretrial publicity.

Bove noted Williams had published an op-ed in City & State after resigning ahead of Trump’s inauguration that commented generally on the state of corruption in New York, and that he had created a personal website. That argument has come under sharp attack.

“In connection with that determination and directive, the Acting Deputy Attorney General also concluded that continuing these proceedings would interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City, which poses unacceptable threats to public safety, national security, and related federal immigration initiatives and policies,” the motion said.

Adams has denied there was any promise made by him or anyone on his behalf to the Trump Administration.

““I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never. ,” he said in a statement Friday. “I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first.”

Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, has said the move to dismiss was a vindication of the mayor and that he case was over. He could not be reached for comment on Friday’s developments.

The motion filed shortly after 6 p.m. asked Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it could be revived. It said Adams had agreed to the arrangement through his attorneys.

It said the case had been transferred from the SDNY to the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section in D.C. and is now in the hands of the unit’s senior litigation counsel, Edward Sullivan, who agreed to sign on to the filing after Bove threatened to fire everyone in the unit unless someone stepped up. Antoinette Bacon from the DOJ’s criminal division and Bove himself also entered notices of appearance in the case.

Judge Ho must approve the request. It was not immediately clear whether he would do so without seeking more information from prosecutors, whether in writing or at a potential hearing.

Sassoon, in her resignation letter, said she had been prepared to file more charges against Adams, accusing him of destroying and instructing others to get rid of evidence and providing false information to the FBI. A trial was set for April.

Moments after the motion was filed, the veteran Manhattan prosecutors who had been handling the case — Assistant U.S. Attorneys Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, Derek Wikstrom, and Hagan Scotten — notified the court they were withdrawing.

Early Friday, Scotten followed Sassoon’s lead, telling Bove in his resignation letter that he’d have to find a “fool” or a “coward” to bring the motion that he and others argued sought to support Trump’s policy agendas and not the law.

Scotten echoed his former boss’s sentiments in a brief but searing letter to Bove Friday.

“I can even understand how a Chief Executive whose background is in business and politics might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way,” Scotten wrote.

“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”

Adams has pleaded not guilty in the case to bribery, soliciting illegal campaign donations from foreign nationals, wire fraud, and conspiracy, charges that each carry significant prison time on their own and up to 45 years collectively.

The case filed last September was born out of a wide-ranging investigation by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, and the city Department of Investigation that began several months before Adams was elected mayor.

It accuses him of abusing his positions in New York City government starting more than a decade ago during his days as Brooklyn borough president by accepting luxury benefits, including first-class flights and opulent hotel stays all over the world, from wealthy foreign businessmen and officials in or close to the authoritarian Turkish government looking to gain influence over him.