Possibility of Impeaching Trump in Manhattan Fades As Grand Jury Ends

At Monday’s hearing, an attorney from her office said the attorney general is likely to take action against the former president in the near future. Since her investigation is civil, Ms. James can sue, but not criminally.

At that hearing, a judge keep Mr. Trump in contempt of the court for failing to fully comply with the subpoena for Ms. James’ records. And on Friday, although Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed documents that they say he complied with the subpoena, the judge refused to revoke the contempt order, which cost Mr. Trump $10,000. la a day.

Mr Trump has long denied wrongdoing and accused Ms James and Mr Bragg, both Black and Democrat, of “racist” political motives. If he is eventually sued or prosecuted, his attorneys will likely point to a disclaimer that his financial statements were not audited by his accountant and that they were are filed with sophisticated financial institutions that have conducted their own due diligence.

Mr. Bragg’s office is monitoring Ms. James’ civil investigation for potential new clients, he said. And Ms. James’ office is engaged in a criminal investigation by the district attorney, opened more than three years ago by Mr. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr..

In December, Mr. Vance directed the two senior prosecutors leading the criminal investigation, Mark F. Pomerantz and Carey R. Dunne, to present evidence to the jury. with the goal of seeking an indictment of Mr. Trump.

But when Mr. Bragg took office this year, he and several of his aides raised concerns about the strength of the case, questioning whether they could prove that Mr. Trump intended to break the law. are not. Other prosecutors in the office raised similar concerns, people with knowledge of the matter said. In the final months of Mr. Vance’s tenure, three assistant district attorneys stopped working on the investigation, concerned about the speed with which it was proceeding and what they felt were gaps in the evidence. against the former president.

Mr Bragg ultimately decided to stop the grand jury presentation, leading to the departures of Mr Dunne and Mr Pomerantz, who stated in his resignation letter that he believed Mr Trump had “committed numerous felonies”. .