Attorney Mark Pomerantz is said to have left the courthouse in New York on September 8, 2004.
MARY ALTAFFER / AP
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MARY ALTAFFER / AP
Attorney Mark Pomerantz is said to have left the courthouse in New York on September 8, 2004.
MARY ALTAFFER / AP
NEW YORK – A prosecutor who previously led a criminal investigation into Donald Trump quit smoking last month In his resignation letter, he said he believed the former president “committed many felonies” and that he disagreed with the Manhattan district attorney’s decision not to seek an indictment.
In the Letter, fourth edition of The New York Times, Mark Pomerantz told District Attorney Alvin Bragg there was “sufficient evidence to establish Mr. Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt” of the allegation that he falsified financial statements to ensure loans and polish his image as a rich businessman.
“The Trump team has no doubt about whether he committed a crime – he did,” Pomerantz wrote.
Pomerantz and his former co-leader in the Trump investigation, Carey Dunne, resigned on February 23 after clashing with Bragg over the future of the case.
Both were tasked with running the investigation on a daily basis. The two began their investigation under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., and Bragg asked them to stay when he took office in January. Both Vance and Bragg are Democrats.
In his resignation letter, Pomerantz wrote that Vance directed his deputies to present evidence to a grand jury and seek an indictment against Trump and the other defendants “as soon as possible.” No former president has ever been impeached.
“I believe your decision not to indict Donald Trump now, and on the record currently available, is misguided and completely contrary to the public interest,” Pomerantz wrote.
Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for Bragg, said in a statement Wednesday night that the investigation into Trump is continuing and that “an experienced team of prosecutors is working every day to follow the facts.” and the law. We can’t or should say anything in this paragraph about an ongoing investigation.”
A notice seeking comment was left with Trump’s attorney.
Trump has called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
The Associated Press requested copies of Pomerantz and Dunne’s resignations under New York’s open records law, but the district attorney’s office denied the request on Feb.
In rebutting, the office said: “The criminal matter to which both individuals were designated is still pending; therefore, the public release of the letters reflects internal considerations and opinions. about an ongoing investigation that may interfere with that investigation.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office began investigating Trump in 2019, first examining underpayments made to women on his behalf and then expanding into an investigation into whether the president’s firm cheated. lenders or tax authorities about the value of your property.
So far, the three-year investigation has resulted in only tax fraud charges against the Trump company, the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg in relation to lucrative fringe interests. such as rent, car and school fees.
Pomerantz, a former mafia prosecutor, was taken out by Vance to add his expertise in white-collar investigations to the Trump investigation. Dunne argued before the US Supreme Court in a successful, years-long fight for Trump’s tax returns.
After taking office in January, Bragg said he was proud of the continuity Dunne and Pomerantz made in running the high-profile investigation when he took over the DA office from Vance, who retired after a brief stint in office. ten years in office.
Also in January, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced in court filings in a parallel civil investigation that her office had discovered evidence that the Trump Organization had used asset valuations. “fraudulent or misleading” property to obtain loans and tax benefits.
Trump has given his Statement of Financial Status – an annual snapshot of his assets – to banks to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in loans on properties like buildings. offices on Wall Street and golf courses in Florida, and to financial magazines to justify his place among the world’s billionaires.
His lawyers have argued that the claims are accurate and that any attempt to turn disagreements over the value of real estate into a crime is politically motivated.
Several legal experts have said that Manhattan prosecutors face a potential hurdle in proving Trump or his company intentionally falsified financial statements.
In his resignation letter, Pomerantz wrote that Trump should be prosecuted “without further delay,” noting that much of the evidence relates to prior to Trump’s presidency, that the investigation was protracted by the investigation. tax wars and other wars.
Waiting to see if any more damning evidence can be found, he wrote, will only “raise additional questions about Mr. Trump’s failure to accept responsibility for his criminal conduct.”
“No case is perfect. Regardless of the risks of prosecuting a case, I believe that failure to prosecute poses a much greater risk to the public’s confidence in public management. equality of justice,” Pomerantz wrote.
