Donald Trump is 'very happy' that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg doesn't think there's enough evidence against him, source says
The former president couldn't be happier after a New York Times story told how Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg pulled the plug on the grand jury investigation into his business.
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- Donald Trump is "very, very happy" after a New York Times story on the unraveling of his criminal probe.
- The Times reported Sunday that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg doesn't think there's a provable case yet.
- Prosecutors have stopped presenting evidence against Trump to a Manhattan grand jury.
Donald Trump may not have actually read the New York Times story that on Sunday detailed the unraveling of a Manhattan criminal probe against him — but he couldn't be more pleased with the idea that he may be off the hook.
"He is very, very happy with the news on what Alvin Bragg did," a Trump source told Insider, referring to Manhattan's new district attorney.
"Meaning, he's happy that Bragg sees the case for what it is."
The Times reported that Bragg, who took office in January — inheriting a three-year probe into Trump and his business — does not now believe there is enough evidence to prove the former president intentionally committed financial wrongdoing.
On Feb. 22, Bragg ordered his prosecutors to stop presenting evidence to a grand jury that has been hearing evidence in a Lower Manhattan courtroom since the fall.
The probe's two veteran, lead prosecutors, Mark F. Pomerantz and Carey R. Dunne, had been encouraged by Bragg's outgoing predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., to move toward an indictment.
But the day after Bragg ordered the Pomerantz and Dunne to stand down, they resigned.
As Insider reported last month, not a single executive from the C-Suite of The Trump Organization has flipped against their boss.
Not even Trump's indicted former CFO, Allan Weisselberg, would cooperate in exchange for less prison time, according to court papers.
That left Trump's former lawyer and "fixer," Michael Cohen, as the only key witness.
Pomerantz and Dunne felt Cohen had what it took to win an indictment — direct accounts of his ex-boss's knowledge and intent regarding years worth of allegedly inflated financial statements that were used to secure $300 million in loans from one lender alone, Deutsche Bank, a source told Insider.
But after weeks of consulting with the two prosecutors and with outside legal experts, Bragg and his closest aides ultimately decided that Cohen was not enough, despite his wealth of documentation and detailed accounts of how Trump does business, the Times reported.
Cohen declined to comment, as did a lawyer for Trump.
The Manhattan DA has stressed through a spokeswoman that the investigation is continuing. The Times reported that Bragg has said if new evidence or a new witness emerges, the investigation could once more move forward.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is in the midst of a civil probe into Trump and his business that could result in a lawsuit; that probe is delayed while Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. appeal a Manhattan judge's order that they sit for depositions.
Her office is continuing to work with the Manhattan DA's criminal probe.