The Manhattan District Attorney reiterated Thursday that a lengthy criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump and his company remains active.
Alvin Bragg, who took over the investigation when he took office on January 1, 2022, said in a statement Thursday that his investigators and prosecutors are “exploring previously unexplored evidence.”
Bragg’s office has had a number of high-profile resignations since he succeeded former district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., including the two prosecutors who had led Trump’s investigation, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz.
In Pomerantz’s resignation letter, which was published in The New York Times, Pomerantz alleged that Vance “concluded that the facts warranted prosecution,” but that Bragg “had made the decision … not to ask. criminal charges at present “.
Craig Ruttle / AP
Thursday’s statement marked Bragg’s first public comment since Pomerantz and Dunne resigned. His office has repeatedly insisted that the investigation, which led to charges filed last July against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, continue.
“In the long and proud tradition of white-collar prosecutions in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, we are thoroughly investigating and following the facts without fear or favor,” Bragg said Thursday.
The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, in February he asked a judge to file the criminal case against them. He the company was charged in July with allegedly offering executives luxurious tax-free benefits or “indirect employee compensation.” Weisselberg, who had been with Trump in the company for decades, was accused of receiving benefits, including an apartment and a car, worth $ 1.7 million.
They have denied all charges.
Bragg said in a statement Thursday that the team is led by Susan Hoffinger, a prosecutor with “decades of experience as an assistant district attorney and defense attorney, including the New York State Grand Jury and experience in trial.” “.
Bragg also highlighted his own good faith, noting that he took on “complex, high-profile investigations” as a federal prosecutor and “oversaw the success of the litigation against the former president, his family and the Trump Foundation.” to Deputy Chief of the New York Attorney General’s Office.
A Trump lawyer could not be contacted immediately.
Bragg’s statement came hours after New York Attorney General Letitia James he asked a judge to detain Trump in contempt for allegedly failing to comply with a court order to hand over documents in the parallel civil investigation of his office.
Trump has repeatedly accused James, Bragg and Vance of pursuing cases against him for political revenge.
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