2025 U.S. Department of Justice resignations

The 2025 U.S. Department of Justice resignations, also known as the "Thursday Night Massacre" or the "Valentine's Day Seven", refer to the resignations of seven prosecutors of the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2025 in response to orders from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to dismiss federal criminal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The resignations included two attorneys of the Southern District of New York, acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten, as well as five attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. including the acting head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Kevin Driscoll, and the acting chief of Public Integrity, John Keller. Later in April 2025, three additional federal prosecutors, Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach, and Derek Wikstrom, would resign as well after refusing to admit any wrongdoing related to the case.

Sassoon resigned because she alleged in a letter that the dismissal of charges was intended to be a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would assist with Trump's enforcement priorities if the indictment were dismissed.

The resignations have been compared to the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre resignations when president Richard Nixon ordered officials from the Department of Justice to fire the special prosecutor heading the Watergate investigation. This has prompted some individuals to refer to the resignations as the Thursday Night Massacre. Due to the event's proximity to Valentine's Day, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade dubbed those terminated as the "Valentine's Day Seven".

Adams' case was dismissed with prejudice by judge Dale Ho in April 2025 due to inability to force a Justice Department prosecution. Ho reported no other examples of dismissing charges against elected officials to allow the official to "facilitate federal policy goals", indicating that this may amount to "special dispensation" which violates "the basic promise of equal justice under law".