One of the two senior investigators who resigned from the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s financial documents last month said in his resignation letter that there was “no doubt” that Trump had committed a crime.
The letter was written by Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor who came out of retirement to join the investigation, and was obtained by The New York Times this week. Pomerantz and attorney Carey Dunne abruptly resigned from their positions on the inquiry in February; at the time, sources noted that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appeared “disinterested” in pursuing the investigation further, following his election to the position after former DA Cyrus Vance retired.
Bragg’s office has maintained that the investigation into whether the former president lied about his wealth in financial documents is ongoing. But Pomerantz’s letter seems to indicate that the office is unlikely to charge Trump with any criminal conduct, in spite of evidence showing that such a case would likely succeed.
“[Trump’s] financial statements were false, and he has a long history of fabricating information relating to his personal finances and lying about his assets to banks, the national media, counterparties, and many others, including the American people,” Pomerantz wrote in his letter.
“The team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did,” Pomerantz added.
The former prosecutor asserted that Bragg’s decision to slow down the investigation was “misguided and completely contrary to the public interest.” Pomerantz also stated in his letter that he and others in the District Attorney’s office have garnered sufficient evidence “to establish Mr. Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Pomerantz continued:
No case is perfect. Whatever the risks of bringing the case may be, I am convinced that a failure to prosecute will pose much greater risks in terms of public confidence in the fair administration of justice.
“I fear that your decision means that Mr. Trump will not be held fully accountable for his crimes,” Pomerantz concluded. “I have worked too hard as a lawyer, and for too long, now to become a passive participant in what I believe to be a grave failure of justice.”
A spokesperson for Bragg refuted the letter’s contents, telling The Hill that the investigation is ongoing and that a “team of experienced prosecutors is working every day to follow the facts and the law” regarding the case.
But there are signs that the investigation is winding down and won’t conclude with any charges against Trump, his family members, or those who handled his finances. The grand jury overseeing the inquiry is set to expire a week from this Friday, and no witnesses have appeared before the jury since the start of this year.
Trump may still have to answer for his alleged criminal actions, as a separate inquiry at the state level remains ongoing, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Upon the announcement last month that Pomerantz and Dunne had resigned from the Manhattan District Attorney’s inquiry, a spokesperson for James’s office said that her “investigation is ongoing, and there is a robust team working on it.”
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