Two prosecutors working on Manhattan DA’s Trump Organization probe resign

By Sonia Moghe and Devan Cole, CNN

Two top prosecutors working on the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal investigation into the Trump Organization resigned Wednesday, leaving the years-old probe without two key players as it appeared to have entered a crucial phase.

Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz submitted their resignations to the DA’s office, Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for the office, told CNN in a statement, adding that “we are grateful for their service.”

“The investigation is ongoing,” Filson said. “We can’t comment further.”

The New York Times first reported the prosecutors’ resignations. CNN has reached out to Pomerantz and Dunne for comment.

The resignations come as the new Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has “indicated to them that he had doubts about moving forward with a case against” former President Donald Trump, the Times said, citing conversations with people with knowledge of the matter.

One person familiar with the investigation by the district attorney’s office told CNN that Bragg appeared “disinterested” in his office’s investigation into the Trump Organization while he was battling bad press stemming from a memo he had released detailing changes to prosecutorial policies.

The source called Dunne’s and Pomerantz’s departures a setback but said the investigation will move forward.

“A case can be harmed by the team that’s carrying it out leaving, but that doesn’t mean that’s the end,” the source said.

But another source said the notion that Bragg was uninterested in the case was “ridiculous,” saying the district attorney is taking his time. “Alvin’s taken a great interest and we’re looking at it — it’s ongoing,” this source said. “And it’s a strong team of lawyers here that it’s ongoing with.”

Bragg’s concerns ultimately led to a pause in the probe’s use of a state grand jury, according to the Times, which said Dunne and Pomerantz “have not questioned any witnesses in front of the grand jury for more than a month.” The newspaper said that the investigators “late last month postponed a plan to question at least one witness before the grand jury.”

The “precise reasons for Mr. Bragg’s pullback are unknown,” the Times said, noting that “he has made few public statements about the status of the inquiry since taking office.”

Following his election last year, Bragg pledged to personally focus on the probe, saying in an interview that it’s “obviously a consequential case, one that merits the attention of the DA personally.”

CNN reported in December that the investigation appears to be coming to a head, with prosecutors focusing on the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements when seeking financing, according to people familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors have already brought witnesses before the grand jury, including a key Trump accountant and two Forbes journalists. They have also interviewed employees from Deutsche Bank, one of Trump’s main lenders. The investigation follows criminal charges announced last July that allege the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer engaged in a 15-year tax fraud scheme. The Trump Organization and the former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, have pleaded not guilty.

This story has been updated with additional information Wednesday.

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