Two New York prosecutors who resigned from leading a criminal fraud probe of ex-President Donald Trump and his eponymous organization reportedly arrived at their decision because of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s unwillingness to move ahead with criminal charges against the former commander in chief.
The investigation into whether Trump or the Trump Organization doctored financial documents to inflate the value of properties—potentially defrauding insurance companies, banks, and lenders, among others—is still ongoing despite the personnel shakeup.
The reasoning behind Bragg’s reported reluctance has been varied. The New York Times and other outfits like CNN have cited anonymous sources who say reasons have ranged from internal concerns over the strength of evidence to bring a full conviction to a lack of impartial witness testimony. There has also been worry over Trump’s penchant for exaggeration and how it might sink arguments from prosecutors that need to prove criminal intent.
Bringing criminal charges against a U.S. president, former or current, is no small feat and if the Manhattan DA’s office decided to do so, it would be a historic first. Ultimately, the question remains and in the meantime, Trump can keep his focus on running for reelection.
New York City prosecutors Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne stepped down last month and Susan Hoffinger has now assumed the lead over the fraud probe after Bragg opted to stop presenting evidence to a grand jury. Hoffinger is a white-collar criminal defense expert.
Bragg took roughly six weeks to reach that decision. As noted by The New York Times, it took his predecessor, Cy Vance, several months to review a mountain of materials that pointed toward indictment. Both Pomerantz and Dunne were already in the throes of presenting that evidence when Bragg shut it down.
The decision had nothing to do with the prosecutors’ performance, according to the Times. But Bragg reportedly couldn’t shake a nagging worry that their office had set themselves up for an impossible task.
A meeting in late January between Pomerantz, Dunne, Bragg, and a slew of Bragg’s aides allegedly left much to be desired. During that meeting, the Times reported that the attorneys presented their reasoning for the indictment.
They fielded rapid-fire questions from Bragg and the grilling was so intense that at one point, Dunne seemed to be taken aback.
“Wow, this is a really hot bench. What I’m hearing is you have great concerns,” Dunne said at the Jan. 24 meeting in New York.
Bragg has not been alone in his apprehension to indict Trump; other prosecutors have aired concerns, too. This particular probe into Trump (there are several) has been ongoing for years. Though gigantic troves of records and interviews have been secured, no one has yet come forward to prosecutors from inside the Trump organization. Securing that testimony would go far toward proving the case.
Pomerantz and Dunne suggested they put people like Michael Cohen, Trump’s onetime personal attorney, forward for the grand jury. But that was a double-edged sword for the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Though Cohen was once a loyal lapdog to the president, serving as his attorney and fixer, that all changed when the feds raided him in 2018.
He ended up pleading guilty to lying to Congress and tax fraud, and admitted to campaign finance violations—including shoveling hush money to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump, like adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
But Bragg reportedly felt that Cohen’s very public break with Trump and his subsequent stark criticisms of him precluded his involvement.
According to the Times:
“Mr. Bragg has told aides that the inquiry could move forward if a new piece of evidence is unearthed, or if a Trump Organization insider decides to turn on Mr. Trump. Other prosecutors in the office saw that as fanciful.
Bragg did not immediately return a request for comment to Daily Kos on Monday.
According to CNN, prosecutors on the case have so far only brought a Trump accountant to testify before the grand jury, and two reporters for Forbes. An employee of Trump’s top lender Deutsche Bank has also testified.