NEW YORK — An association of New York state prosecutors said Friday that a former member of the Manhattan district attorney’s office who investigated Donald Trump violated ethical standards by writing a book about the case during an ongoing criminal investigation.
“By writing and releasing a book in the midst of an ongoing case, the author is upending the norms and ethics of prosecutorial conduct and is potentially in violation of New York criminal law,” Jordan said in the statement.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has previously said Pomerantz may have broken a law barring prosecutors from disclosing grand jury material by writing the book.
“I am confident that the publication of my book is legal, ethical, and in the public interest,” Pomerantz said in response to the association’s statement.
Bragg’s office has an open grand jury presentation in the Trump case focusing on alleged hush money given to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 campaign, an area of the overall investigation that a team under Cyrus R. Vance Jr., Bragg’s predecessor, had previously abandoned. The probe started under Vance in 2019. Trump denies having a sexual encounter with Daniels and has denied ordering the payment, which was orchestrated by his former confidant Michael Cohen.
Cohen pleaded guilty to related federal charges and was sentenced to three years in prison. Much of it was served on home confinement.
Pomerantz, in the book and in public comments made since his February 2022 resignation, has accused Bragg of ending the probe, which Bragg’s office rejects. Instead, Bragg concluded that the case needed more work and said the inquiry should continue, according to people familiar with the matter who recently spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential process.
A panel of outside litigators saw a presentation of the issues in December 2021 and expressed skepticism about the viability of a case against the former president focused on his alleged practice of manipulating asset valuations, the case Pomerantz lobbied for before resigning in protest of Bragg’s position, the people familiar with the matter said.
Two months later, Pomerantz asked Bragg to let him present charges to the grand jury for a vote and the case was no stronger, people familiar with the matter said. Bragg encouraged Pomerantz and another veteran lawyer, Carey Dunne, to stay, but they declined and quit together, a person familiar with the situation said.
“After closely reviewing all the evidence from Mr. Pomerantz’s investigation, I came to the same conclusion as several senior prosecutors involved in the case, and also those I brought on: more work was needed,” Bragg said in a statement Friday.
“Our skilled and professional legal team continues to follow the facts of this case wherever they may lead, without fear or favor,” Bragg said. “Mr. Pomerantz decided to quit a year ago and sign a book deal.”
Bragg’s office recently sent a letter to Pomerantz’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, saying he was in violation of a nondisclosure agreement, office policies and ethical rules. The letter’s author, general counsel Leslie Dubeck, said there was also a concern that grand jury secrecy laws may have been violated.
Vance, who last headed the district attorney’s office and oversaw the Trump case before Bragg, previously served as president of the prosecutors association.
