Former prosecutor says Donald Trump is 'guilty of numerous felony violations'

Former prosecutor¹ says Donald Trump² is 'guilty of numerous felony violations³'

　　Transcript⁴

　　Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who resigned amid a criminal probe into Donald Trump's business practices, said he thinks the former president should be tried by a jury on felony charges.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　In this country, a prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump's business and then resigned is now saying what he learned. He says he thinks the former president is guilty of numerous felony violations and should face trial. He said so in his resignation letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. He disagreed with the decision by the Manhattan district attorney to back off the investigation⁵.

　　NPR's Ilya Marritz covers Trump legal matters and is with us now. Good morning.

　　ILYA MARRITZ, BYLINE⁶: Good morning.

　　INSKEEP: What's this letter like?

　　MARRITZ: It is bracingly direct. There is no reading between the lines. It's - I quit and here is exactly why I quit. The lawyer who wrote it is Mark Pomerantz. He's a highly respected attorney, known for prosecuting⁷ John Gotti - later went into private practice doing criminal defense⁸. For the past year, Pomerantz has been working in the Manhattan district attorney's office, building a potential criminal case against the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, over his business practices, starting from the time before he was in the White House.

　　Last month, Pomerantz and another leading attorney on that probe both resigned. It was not expected, and that fueled speculation⁹ that the investigation of Trump had come to a halt. This letter seems to confirm that. Pomerantz says he believed the evidence was strong enough to seek an indictment¹¹, and quickly, and the district attorney, who makes the final call, did not agree. I should add that Manhattan has a new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who was sworn in in January. That's who Pomerantz addressed his resignation to.

　　INSKEEP: Yeah, that change in the office seems to be part of the story. So what exactly was the difference of opinion between the prosecutor and the new DA?

　　MARRITZ: Pomerantz says, based on the evidence he's seen, he is confident Trump committed felonies connected with his statements of financial condition - basically misleading financial institutions like banks about his own wealth and assets, the value of his buildings - and he says the former DA, Cy Vance Jr., agreed with him, and so did the whole team. Then, a new district attorney arrived in January. Pomerantz writes that DA Alvin Bragg's decision not to move ahead was sincere, but incorrect. Quote, "I fear that your decision means that Mr. Trump will not be held fully¹² accountable for his crimes. I've worked too hard as a lawyer and for too long now to become a passive participant in what I believe to be a grave failure of justice."

　　INSKEEP: Does Alvin Bragg agree that he has made this decision not to prosecute¹³, and if so, why?

　　MARRITZ: No. Bragg's spokeswoman says Pomerantz has it wrong. Quote, "the investigation continues. A team of experienced prosecutors¹⁴ is working every day to follow the facts and the law." They're not saying that they're going to indict¹⁰ Trump, but they are saying that the investigation is alive. Still, the grand jury expires next month, so it's sort of hard to see where this goes from here.

　　INSKEEP: Very briefly¹⁵, isn't this just one of a number of criminal cases surrounding the former president?

　　MARRITZ: Yes. Yes. DA Bragg inherited an active criminal case against the Trump Organization, the company, and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg. The New York attorney general has a civil investigation of Trump business practices. I should say Trump has always maintained he did nothing wrong and that all this is politically motivated. What Mark Pomerantz's letter tells us is that there was a potential case against Trump, the man. It was strong enough that really experienced prosecutors said, yes, we should indict the former president. It now seems almost certain that that case will not be brought.

　　INSKEEP: NPR's Ilya Marritz. Thanks.

　　MARRITZ: You're very welcome.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

11 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

14 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

15 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。