Will Ex-Trump Prosecutor’s Book Impede NY Investigation?

The investigation on former President Trump could be compromised by a forthcoming book by a former top prosecutor who could be unlawfully using confidential information for his personal advantage, the Manhattan district attorney's office said Wednesday. “Based on the pre-publication descriptions of his book and the benefit of current knowledge of the matter, but without access to the manuscript, this office believes there is a meaningful risk that the publication will materially prejudice ongoing criminal investigations and related adjudicative proceedings,” the office’s general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, wrote to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, says the Wall Street Journal. The letter said the book’s author, Mark Pomerantz, who resigned last February, had neither sought nor received permission to make disclosures relating to ongoing matters. She said the office was available to review the manuscript and would seek to complete such a review within 60 days. The office didn’t say it was seeking to block the book’s publication.

Pomerantz said, “I am confident that all of my actions with respect to the Trump investigation, including the writing of my forthcoming book, are consistent with my legal and ethical obligations.” His book, “People vs. Donald Trump,” is a “fascinating inside account of the attempt to prosecute former president Donald Trump,” according to the publisher’s website. The author “tells the story of his unprecedented investigation, why he believes Donald Trump should be prosecuted, and what we can learn about the nature of justice in America from this extraordinary case,” the publisher says. Pomerantz and another top prosecutor resigned after District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to bring charges in a case authorized by his predecessor. The book is printed, but Simon & Schuster isn’t making early copies available. “We stand behind Mark Pomerantz and his book ... and look forward to sharing this important and timely work with readers when it is published on February 7,” said a spokeswoman for Simon & Schuster.