Former prosecutor says Trump "guilty of numerous felony violations"
One of the prosecutors who had been leading the fraud investigation into the Trump Organization wrote in his resignation letter that he believes former President Donald Trump is "guilty of numerous felony violations." The letter, confirmed by CBS News, was first published by the New York Times.
In the letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Pomerantz expressed frustration with Bragg's handling of the case, writing "I believe that your decision not to prosecute Donald Trump now, and on the existing record, is misguided and completely contrary to the public interest. I therefore cannot continue in my current position."
Pomerantz and fellow prosecutor Carey Dunne both resigned in February amid the investigation in to the former president's company. The probe has led to fraud and tax evasion charges against the company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Bragg, told CBS News on Wednesday, "The investigation continues. A team of experienced prosecutors is working every day to follow the facts and the law. There is nothing we can or should say at this juncture about an ongoing investigation."
Pomerantz in his letter wrote that "the team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did," adding, "I and others have advised you that we have evidence sufficient to establish Mr. Trump's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and we believe that the prosecution would prevail if charges were brought and the matter were tried to an impartial jury."
The Manhattan district attorney's office started investigating Trump in 2019, first examining hush-money payments paid to women on his behalf and then expanding into an inquiry into whether the president's company misled lenders or tax authorities about the value of its properties.
Pomerantz, a former mafia prosecutor, was brought out of private practice by Vance to add his expertise in white collar investigations to the Trump probe. Dunne argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in a successful, multiyear fight for Trump's tax records.
After taking office in January, Bragg said he was proud of the continuity that Dunne and Pomerantz had brought in running the high-profile investigation as he took over the D.A.'s office from Vance, who retired after a dozen years in office.
Also in January, New York Attorney General Letitia James claimed in court filings in a parallel civil investigation that her office had uncovered evidence the Trump Organization used "fraudulent or misleading" valuations of assets to get loans and tax benefits.
Trump has given his Statement of Financial Condition — a yearly snapshot of his holdings — to banks to secure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of loans on properties such as a Wall Street office building and a Florida golf course, and to financial magazines to justify his place among the world's billionaires.
His lawyers have argued that the statements were accurate, and that any attempts to spin disagreements about the value of real estate into a crime were politically motivated.
Some legal experts had said that Manhattan prosecutors faced a potential hurdle in proving that Trump or his company intentionally falsified financial statements.
In his resignation letter, Pomerantz wrote that Trump should be prosecuted "without any further delay," noting that much of the evidence related to before Trump was president, that the investigation had already been prolonged by the tax return battle and other fights.
Waiting to see if more damning evidence could be found would likely be unfruitful, he wrote, and would only "raise additional questions about the failure to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his criminal conduct."
"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," Pomerantz wrote.