Manhattan prosecutors conducting criminal investigation into Trump resign
The Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's business dealings hit a snag on Wednesday when the two prosecutors leading the probe resigned without warning or explanation, The New York Times reported.
According to the Times, "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 investigation began under Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., as a probe into whether Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels but now focuses on whether he defrauded lenders by overinflating the value of his assets. Vance retired at the end of 2021 after three terms.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The special grand jury investigating Trump reportedly has not questioned any witnesses in more than a month.
This setback for the investigation comes less than a week after what many saw as a major breakthrough in the parallel civil investigation being conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James. A judge ruled on Thursday that Trump and his two eldest children — Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — must testify under oath, though Trump could choose to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
This could be good news for the former president, whose recent legal setbacks led Washington Post columnist George Conway to speculate that "the beginning of the end for Trump" may have arrived.
Trump is also facing three lawsuits, which a judge declined to dismiss on Friday, alleging that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In Georgia, a special grand jury is investigating whether he broke the law when he urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to "find" enough votes to overturn President Biden's victory.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Trump to partly fund SNAP as shutdown talks progressSpeed Read The administration has said it will cover about 50% of benefits
-
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
-
‘Not every social scourge is an act of war’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pentagon unable to name boat strike casualtiesSpeed Read The Pentagon has so far acknowledged 14 strikes
-
41 political cartoons for October 2025Cartoons Editorial cartoonists take on Donald Trump, ICE, Stephen Miller, the government shutdown, a peace plan in the Middle East, Jeffrey Epstein, and more.
-
Trump limits refugees mostly to white South AfricansSpeed Read The administration is capping the number of refugees at 7,500
-
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation


