Former Manhattan DA says Trump DOJ asked him to 'stand down' in Stormy Daniels hush-money probe

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has revealed that the Justice Department asked his office to “stand down” in its probe of Donald Trump’s 2016 $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Vance did not mention any names, but said the request came from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. At the time, Bill Barr was the U.S. Attorney General, and Geoffrey Berman was the U.S. Attorney for the SDNY. Both have some explaining to do about the request that Vance “stand down.”

Vance’s remarks knock down a key GOP talking point, claiming that the current Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Jr. had resurrected a weak “zombie case” against Trump that had already been rejected by his predecessor.