Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove and lawyers from the department's public integrity section and criminal division in Washington filed paperwork seeking to end the case.
Among the people leaving were the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan and a veteran prosecutor who worked on the Adams case, along with the acting chief of the public integrity section.
The Justice Department formally asked a court Friday to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
At least seven prosecutors in New York and Washington quit rather than carry out a directive to halt the case.
The move was expected and was fiercely opposed by the federal prosecutors in Manhattan who brought the case.
