NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The top prosecutors in charge of the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into former President Trump and his business dealings resigned Wednesday, bringing into question the future of the probe.
Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, who had been leading the investigation under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance, submitted their resignations Wednesday, sources familiar told Fox News.
Both Pomerantz and Dunne agreed to stay on in the district attorney’s office after Vance’s term expired in January and current District Attorney Alvin Bragg took the helm.
Pomerantz and Dunne’s resignations on Wednesday opened speculation on the future of the investigation.
“I’m very happy. I believe the investigation is now over as it should be,” Trump’s attorney Ron Fischetti told Fox News, adding Bragg sat “down with his two top prosecutors. “I believe they had a meeting and went through evidence and decided what I have been saying all along that there wasn’t any evidence that Donald Trump individually did any wrong in this case.”
“Although we haven’t heard from Mr. Bragg that he is closing the investigation, I believe that that is coming in the near future,” Fischetti said.
A source familiar with the investigation pointed Fox News, specifically, to Trump’s “Statement of Financial Condition,” which reports an entity’s assets, liabilities and abilities to raise and use funds.
The source told Fox News that Trump did not inflate his financial statements, as prosecutors had anticipated, but instead, undervalued his assets.
The source also pointed to Trump’s financial disclaimer–which is a statement about financial information that is included to reduce liability for the source of that information.
“The statement was not inflated,” the source told Fox News, adding that Trump’s assets, instead, were “higher.”
“After years of investigation, they’ve figured this out,” the source continued. “And Bragg won’t prosecute it.”
The source added: “They have no case.”
TRUMP SLAMS NEW YORK POLITICIANS, LEAVES DOOR OPEN ON RETURN TO NYC
A spokesperson for Bragg told Fox News on Wednesday, though, that “the investigation is ongoing.”
“We can’t comment further,” the spokesperson said, when asked about specifics regarding the statement of financial condition.
The New York Times on Wednesday also reported that Pomerantz and Dunne’s resignations came after Bragg raised doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.
Before joining Vances’ office, Pomerantz was of counsel at New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He took leave from the firm last year to join Vance’s office to investigate Trump’s financial dealings.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s brother, Robert Schumer, is a partner at the firm. Pomerantz donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Dunne, before leading the Trump investigation, served as general counsel for the district attorney’s office and successfully argued before the Supreme Court for Trump’s tax records.
The investigation was opened by Vance in 2019 and was focused on possible bank, insurance and tax fraud. The case involved financial dealings of Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his flagship Fifth Avenue building, Trump Tower, and the valuation of his 213-acre estate Seven Springs in Westchester.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The probe led to tax fraud charges last July against The Trump Organization, and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg.
Weisselberg was accused of collecting more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition.
Both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty.
This week, lawyers for Weisselberg and the Trump Organization filed court papers seeking to throw out the case, and argued that the district attorney’s office was targeting him as a punishment for not flipping on former President Trump.
Meanwhile, last month, when Bragg took over as district attorney, he touted the “continuity” of Pomerantz and Dunne’s work into his term.
“I do think the one continuity is the staffing and (Vance) brought on incredible lawyers to do it,” Bragg told reporters in January.
Bragg said, at the time, that they had been “dedicated” and said his team was “thinking about the kind of resources” they would need “to continue the investigation in order to then be in a position to make” decisions on the direction of the probe, Bragg said.
Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to the press after casting his ballot in the New York City election in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar
(REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Bragg did not discuss the case in detail, but said he was getting up to speed on the Trump investigation and vowed to “follow the facts.”
“It’s a matter that’s personally, as you would imagine, on my radar screen and that I’m mindful of and paying attention to,” Bragg said.
Fox News’ Marta Dhanis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
