The drama — which recalls the Saturday Night Massacre of Watergate fame — represents the most high-profile effort yet by Justice Department officials to push back against Trump’s DOJ leadership, which is tasked with ending the “weaponization” of justice but which critics fear is perpetuating it.

A crisis at the department over the Eric Adams case is an early test of the criminal justice system’s resilience against a retribution-minded president and his appointees.

The top attorney on the case has resigned claiming the mayor had struck a deal to enforce immigration laws in return for dropping the charges.