Manhattan district attorney adds prominent prosecutor in Trump probe

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has added a prominent federal prosecutor with a history of working on white-collar crime cases to its investigation into the business dealings of former President Trump.

Danny Frost, a spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, confirmed to The Hill on Friday that the office hired former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz and that he started in his role as special assistant district attorney on Feb. 3.

The New York Times first reported the hiring. Pomerantz will be part of a team investigating possible tax and bank-related fraud by the Trump Organization.

Pomerantz “has counseled CEOs in proceedings brought by the Justice Department and the SEC,” according to his bio on the website of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he is taking a leave of absence.

The attorney has also “handled major matters and internal investigations involving all aspects of alleged corporate misconduct, including securities and bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, RICO and FCPA violations, tax offenses and bribery.”

The addition of Pomerantz is the latest development in Vance’s ongoing investigation into Trump and his affiliated businesses, a probe which Trump and his allies have claimed is a politically motivated “witch hunt,” by Vance, a Democrat. 

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the district attorney’s office had expanded its investigation to include Trump’s Manhattan properties, including his signature Trump Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, as well as Trump Plaza. 

The Journal reported at the time that Vance’s office was specifically looking into loans that Trump took out for the buildings that were made by subsidiaries of real-estate investment trust Ladder Capital.

Ladder Capital has lent Trump more than $280 million for the Manhattan buildings since 2012, the newspaper reported, citing property records.

Reports emerged last month that Vance’s probe had expanded to include the former president’s Seven Springs estate in Westchester County.

Vance and Trump still remain in a prolonged legal battle over Trump’s tax returns and other financial information.

The Supreme Court ordered Trump in July to hand over the tax records, but the former president has since appealed the ruling. The high court has not yet decided if it will hear the case.

Updated at 10:44 a.m.