OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Two of the main prosecutors involved in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business practices have resigned.
The resignations came on Wednesday, during a monthlong freeze in presenting evidence to a grand jury and some believe it suggests a lack of confidence in the case by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, The New York Times reported.
The unexpected development came not long after the high-stakes inquiry appeared to be gaining momentum and now throws its future into serious doubt.
The prosecutors, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, submitted their resignations because the new Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, indicated to them that he had doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr. Trump, the people said.
Mr. Pomerantz confirmed in a brief interview that he had resigned but declined to elaborate. Mr. Dunne declined to comment.
Without Mr. Bragg’s commitment to move forward, the prosecutors late last month postponed a plan to question at least one witness before the grand jury, one of the people said. They have not questioned any witnesses in front of the grand jury for more than a month, essentially pausing their investigation into whether Mr. Trump inflated the value of his assets to obtain favorable loan terms from banks.
The Times noted that Bragg has had roadblocks in presenting his case, including not being able to get executives at the Trump organization to testify against Trump.
The term of this grand jury is set to expire in April which means time is running out on presenting his case. They could ask the grand jury to vote to extend the term but it is not something they generally do. They could also impanel another grand jury but that, too, is unlikely.
On February 15 Trump sent an extensive email attacking the investigations of Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“The actions of the AG and DA, including the Radical Left Westchester County DA who was a Trump hating contributor at MSNBC, reveal the vile and malicious intent that underlies the nonstop barrage of insults and threats aimed at me and the Trump Organization, including their years-long review of over nine million pages of documents that go far beyond the Statute of Limitations,” he said.
“Letitia James got elected by violently attacking ‘Donald J. Trump’, even though she knew nothing about me. Likewise, District Attorney Alvin Bragg ‘bragged’ that he has sued President Trump over 100 times, more than anybody else. He is now working hand-in-hand with people from the law firm which is one of Hillary Clinton’s biggest donors. Chuck Schumer’s brother, Robert, is a partner and runs the firm. After many years as the District Attorney, the previous DA, Cy Vance, recently left without being able to charge anything other than a fringe benefits case about which the WSJ Editorial Board commented, saying ‘Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed millions of documents and years of tax returns, and that’s all they’ve come up with.’ They go on to say, ‘the political motives at work are transparent…[AG James] all but promised a selective prosecution—that is, pick a target, then search for a crime to allege…it looks like political targeting,’” the former president said.
“The charge against a 74-year-old long-term and wonderful employee is that he did not pay taxes on a company car or a company apartment (Do others pay such a tax? Did Cy Vance pay a tax on his car?), and a charge having to do with my paying for the education of his grandchildren. Murderers all over the city and they are worried about me helping with young children’s education? We may be the only company ever criminally charged by a District Attorney in a fringe benefits case. I believe Allen is innocent,” he said.
“This crime against me is a continuation of a Witch Hunt the likes of which has never been seen in this Country before. From Russia, Russia, Russia, which has now been proven by the Durham findings to be a complete and total fraud, to the Mueller Report, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, there has never been anything like it. The people of our Country are angry and upset, and losing faith in our system, and our Country itself,” he argued.
“Instead of this sham investigation of a great company that has done a spectacular job for New York and beyond, why isn’t law enforcement and the Fake News Media, which has been so destructive to our Country, looking into the fact that Hillary Clinton and her minions got caught SPYING into the office of the President of the United States, a crime so grave that it once called for the death penalty as punishment if caught. It doesn’t get any worse than that! After five years of constant bombardment, this political and racist attack must stop. Look to the murderers, drug dealers and rapists instead,” he said.
