Manhattan prosecutors conducting criminal investigation into Trump resign
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
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.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
Gabbard faces questions on vote raid, secret complaintSpeed Read This comes as Trump has pushed Republicans to ‘take over’ voting
