From The New York Times:
The two prosecutors leading the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former President Donald J. Trump and his business practices abruptly resigned on Wednesday amid a monthlong pause in their presentation of evidence to a grand jury, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The stunning development comes not long after the high-stakes inquiry appeared to be gaining momentum, and throws its future into serious doubt.
The prosecutors, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, submitted their resignations after 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.
Something big must have happened to make Dunne and Pomerantz suddenly resign. As the Times noted, Dunne was general counsel to Bragg’s predecessor, stayed on to help with the Trump investigation and argued the case before the Supreme Court. Pomerantz, a former prosecutor, took leave from his high-end white collar defense practice to help lead the investigation.
Apparently, Bragg doesn’t want to go forward with the case for some reason. As noted above, The Times says he “indicated” to Dunne and Pomerantz “doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr. Trump.” The Washington Post says, “A person briefed on the criminal probe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal information, said Bragg has signaled to others he is less interested in the case than was his predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., whose term ended at the end of 2021.”
In an appearance on MSNBC today, reporter Tom Winter noted, without directly saying so, that there had been an odd pause in the proceedings. Former prosecutor Daniel Goldman explained that while a criminal case against Trump would be very difficult, there’s “something rotten” going on when the top prosecutors publicly resign. He said it “reeks” of Dunne and Pomerantz thinking that there is a case and Bragg saying otherwise.
This does not mean that Trump is off the hook in New York. The state attorney general, Letitia James, is proceeding aggressively with her civil case. But The Post has this:
But James also has said her office is partnering with Bragg in the criminal investigation. On Wednesday, her spokeswoman, Delaney Kempner, said the criminal inquiry “is ongoing and there is a robust team in place that is working on it."
The person briefed on the case said James’s office had hoped Bragg and his team would be more aggressive than Vance and has been disappointed with his lack of interest.
Did Trump get to Bragg, like a Mafia boss would? We, the people, deserve to know what happened.
