In his resignation letter, Manhattan prosecutor Mark F. Pomerantz wrote that after investigating former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, he believes Trump is "guilty of numerous felony violations," The New York Times reports.
Pomerantz also said it would be a "grave failure of justice" not to hold Trump accountable.
The letter, which was obtained by the Times, was submitted on Feb. 23 to new Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. Pomerantz and Carey R. Dunne, another senior prosecutor involved in the inquiry into Trump, resigned after Bragg paused pursuing an indictment of the former president. Bragg's decision, Pomerantz wrote, was "contrary to the public interest. The team that has been investigating Mr. Trump harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes — he did."
Pomerantz and Dunne intended to charge Trump with falsifying business records, specifically his annual financial statements, the Times reports. This is a felony in New York state, and if Pomerantz and Dunne had secured an indictment, Trump would have become the first American president to face criminal charges.
The Times reported in early March that the prosecutors and Bragg disagreed about whether they could prove Trump knowingly falsified the value of his assets on the annual financial statements. In his letter, Pomerantz wrote that before leaving office, Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., directed prosecutors to pursue an indictment of Trump and "other defendants as soon as reasonably possible." He did not list any names.
"No case is perfect," Pomerantz wrote. "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."
The district attorney's office said the investigation into Trump is ongoing, and as such, Bragg cannot comment on its specifics. Pomerantz warned in his letter that "I and others believe that your decision not to authorize prosecution now will doom any future prospects that Mr. Trump will be prosecuted for the criminal conduct we have been investigating." Read more at The New York Times.