Resignations Throw New York’s Criminal Case Against Trump Into Disarray

One of the two legal investigations into President Trump’s business will enter uncertain waters after a chaotic day that saw the lead prosecutors resign and the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, file a request that the charges against him be tossed.It was a dramatic series of developments that augured well for Mr. Trump’s efforts to survive, legally, an investigation into allegations that the Trump Organization overinflated its business assets to obtain favorable tax benefits. That alleged behavior forms the basis for both a criminal investigation by the district attorney of New York County, Alvin Bragg, and a parallel civil case under the auspices of New York State’s attorney general, Letitia James. While General James’s investigation trundles on, the probe under Mr. Bragg’s remit seems to be running out of gas. The New York Times reported that two of Mr. Bragg’s deputies, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, resigned. This has fueled conjecture that their resignations are a result of concluding that their boss’s enthusiasm for pursuing criminal charges against Mr. Trump had flagged.The case against Mr. Trump was first launched in 2018 under Mr. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr. The resignations of Messrs. Dunne and Pomerantz come at a sensitive moment in the case, which last July yielded tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization and Mr. Weisselberg. He has pleaded not guilty. The mandate of the grand jury convened to issue further indictments is due to expire in April, and in recent weeks prosecutors’ activity in front of that body has grown increasingly somnolent, lending the impression that the case was on borrowed time. According to the Times, no witnesses have been interviewed in front of the grand jury in more than a month. Wednesday’s twin resignations will only amplify speculation that Mr. Bragg’s case is on the rocks, despite a district attorney spokeswoman insisting the investigation is ongoing. In an overlapping development, Business Insider reports that Mr. Weisselberg’s attorney filed a 162-page brief in federal court late last month, requesting that the tax fraud charges against the former CFO be dismissed.That brief was unsealed today. The Associated Press reports Mr. Weisselberg’s argument that he has been “collateral damage” and the victim of “selective prosecution” that amounted to a “singular crusade” against Mr. Trump on the part of Democratic law enforcement officials. Mr. Weisselberg also claims that although he was not granted formal immunity, prosecutors improperly charged him after he testified in the investigation of Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former attorney. His lawyers have requested a hearing to make their case. Just last week, Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York State Supreme Court rejected such an argument and decided that Mr. Trump and two of his children were required to testify under oath. Mr Trump called the order “a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in history.” It is likely to be appealed.After a dismal stretch for the former president that saw Justice Engoron’s ruling and Mr. Trump’s former accounting firm distance itself from its audits of the Trump Organization, the day’s events signaled not escape from legal jeopardy, but something of a reprieve. It’s too soon to say how the criminal and civil cases against the nation’s 45th president will unfold. It’s not too soon to quote the words of Justice Robert Jackson: “The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.”

Resignations Throw New York’s Criminal Case Against Trump Into Disarray

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