Prosecutors in Trump criminal investigation resign suddenly

District attorney expresses doubts about grand jury inquiry as no witnesses are called for several weeks

THE two New York prosecutors leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s taxes have quit suddenly, throwing the future of the inquiry into doubt.

Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz were reported yesterday to have resigned after Alvin Bragg, the new Manhattan district attorney, questioned whether his office should pursue a case against the former president.

The investigation, which runs parallel to a tax fraud inquiry into the Trump Organisation by Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, is looking at whether the former president’s family business misrepresented the value of its assets and allowed certain executives to compensate taxes with off-the-books perks.

A grand jury was seated under Cyrus Vance Jr, the previous district attorney, who left office last month.

Prosecutors have not questioned any witnesses in front of the jury in several weeks, according to The New York Times, which speculated that Mr Bragg had put the investigation on ice.

The grand jury has until April to reach a decision on whether Mr Trump should formally face charges. Prosecutors can ask jurors for a vote to extend the term deadline, but generally avoid doing so.

Legal experts speculated the yearslong investigation would lose steam without its two main drivers: Mr Dunne, a Manhattan legal veteran who has been closely involved with the inquiry for years, and Mr Pomerantz, a former mafia prosecutor who was enlisted to work on the case.

Mr Bragg, a liberal Democrat who has received media attention for his progressive reforms of New York City’s criminal justice system, had previously pledged to focus on the investigation.

Mr Trump, 75, has frequently dismissed both criminal probes into his business empire as politically motivated “witch hunts”.

The District Attorney’s Office must meet a high bar to bring a criminal case and has thus far been unable to persuade any Trump Organisation executives to co-operate.

The Manhattan investigation led to tax fraud charges last July against the Trump Organisation and Allen Weisselberg, its longtime finance chief.

Mr Weisselberg was accused of collecting more than $1.7million (£1.25million) in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. He and the company have pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers for Mr Weisselberg yesterday argued before a judge that New York prosecutors targeted him as punishment because he would not turn on the former president.

The slowdown in Mr Bragg’s investigation coincides with an escalation in the activity in Ms James’s, whose office is examining some of the same conduct by Mr Trump.

Ms James last week received approval from a judge to question Mr Trump and two of his adult children under oath.