Ex-prosecutor’s book details N.Y. fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that put that plan on ice.
Mark Pomerantz, who oversaw the investigation until early last year, writes in “People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account” that then-district Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. authorized him in December 2021 to seek Trump’s indictment.
After scouring Trump’s life and business, Pomerantz writes that prosecutors agreed on a case involving allegations that Trump falsified records by inflating the value of assets on financial statements he provided lenders.
Vance was leaving office within weeks, but he expressed confidence that his successor, Alvin Bragg, would agree with his assessment, Pomerantz writes. But Bragg and his team had other ideas — expressing trepidation about the strength of evidence and the credibility of a key witness.
They decided not to proceed, at least not with the speed Pomerantz and co-lead prosecutor Carey Dunne wanted. Pomerantz writes. The stagnation compelled both men to leave the office.
“Once again, Donald Trump had managed to dance between the raindrops of accountability,” Pomerantz writes in the book, which is set to be published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster.
Trump has threatened legal action against Pomerantz and Simon & Schuster for what he contends are “defamatory statements” and “groundless falsehoods” about his alleged criminal conduct.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the New York investigations are attempts by Democrats to keep him out of the White House.
In a post to his Trump Social platform, Trump said Pomerantz’s book “is turning out to be a hit on the District Attorney and the ‘weak’ case ‘with many fatal flaws.’ ”
Bragg’s office sought last month to delay the book’s publication, saying in a letter to Pomerantz and Simon & Schuster that he was violating a confidentiality agreement he signed upon joining the D.A.’S office and that the book could “materially prejudice” the investigation.