The publication of a new book could derail Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's plans to possibly indict former President Donald Trump in the case involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
A new letter from the DA's office suggests that Bragg is concerned that an upcoming book written by former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz could prejudice his ongoing criminal investigation into Trump.
Pomerantz previously served as the special assistant district attorney on the Trump case under Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr. He and another lead investigator on the case, Carey Dunne, unexpectedly resigned after Bragg indicated he had doubts about moving forward with the case.
His new book, set to publish early next month, is "a fascinating inside account of the attempt to prosecute former president Donald Trump, written by one of the lawyers who worked on the case and resigned in protest when Manhattan's district attorney refused to act," according to a description from publisher Simon and Schuster.
In the letter obtained by the Washington Post, Bragg's general counsel Leslie Dubeck told the publishing house that Pomerantz is "under an obligation to receive prior written permission from the DA's Office before making any disclosures" relating to any communications or documents pertaining to his role in the investigation, per an agreement between the office and the former prosecutor.
Dubeck, who said the matter was being addressed "to protect the integrity of this office's pending criminal investigations and proceedings regarding the former President," cautioned the publication of Pomerantz's book by arguing that the former investigator's separation from the DA's office made him incapable of deciding whether the information in his book might jeopardize the case.
She warned that any further steps from Pomerantz could "damage an ongoing criminal investigation," but stopped short of preventing Simon & Schuster from going forward with the February 7 publication date.
Pomerantz has been critical of Bragg's handling of the Trump case since he quit. He's suggested that the current DA should have moved quicker on indicting Trump, rather than further considering the evidence at hand.
"Ultimately, Pomerantz gathered enough evidence to support the view—held by many of his colleagues on the case, including former Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.—that former president Donald Trump should be indicted for a number of financial crimes," a description of the book from Simon & Schuster reads. "But that indictment never happened. This book explains why."
While Bragg successfully won the tax case against the Trump Organization last year— which did not name Trump personally—the Manhattan office's other criminal investigation into the alleged hush money payments made to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign remains in limbo.
Reports that former Trump attorneys Michael Cohen and Keith Davidson have recently been in contact with Bragg's office have suggested that this is the matter the DA referred to last week when he said his team would "move on to the next chapter" of its Trump investigation.
Newsweek reached out to Bragg's office for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
