Ex-Prosecutor in Trump Case Claims 'Grave Failure of Justice'

A senior Manhattan prosecutor who led the investigation of Donald Trump's finances says the former president is "guilty of numerous felony violations" and it's "a grave failure of justice" not to indict him. The investigating team "harbors no doubt about whether he committed crimes—he did," Mark Pomerantz writes in a Feb. 23 resignation letter obtained by the New York Times and confirmed by CBS News. Another senior prosecutor leading the inquiry, Carey Dunne, resigned on the same day after new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg suddenly stopped pursing an indictment of Trump, removing what the Times refers to as "one of the greatest legal threats Mr. Trump has ever faced."

According to the Times, Pomerantz and Dunne planned to charge Trump with falsifying business records and believed they could show he knowingly inflated the value of assets on annual financial statements. But Bragg, who became attorney general in January, wasn't so sure. His decision not to pursue an indictment, which ended the presentation of evidence to a grand jury, was "contrary to the public interest" and "will pose much greater risks in terms of public confidence in the fair administration of justice," Pomerantz writes. Three prosecutors resigned last year over apparent gaps in evidence. But Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., had pushed forward with the case before leaving office, indicating Trump would become the first US president to face criminal charges.

Pomerantz argues the "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." Trump's lawyer, Ronald Fischetti—a former law partner of Pomerantz—counters that Bragg should be applauded for "making an apolitical charging decision based solely on the lack of evidence." In a statement, the Trump Organization calls Pomerantz "a never-Trumper," adding that "never before have we seen this level of corruption in our legal system." A rep for Bragg notes the investigation is ongoing: "A team of experienced prosecutors is working every day to follow the facts and the law." (More Donald Trump stories.)