The crusading Manhattan district attorney who is investigating former President Donald Trump’s finances said Friday he will not seek reelection for a fourth term.
In a memo released to his staff, District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who was first elected in 2009, did not provide a reason for his decision not to seek reelection.
“Representing the People of New York during this pivotal era for our city and our justice system has been the privilege of a lifetime,” he wrote in the memo released by his office. “Working in partnership with Manhattan communities, the D.A.’s Office we built together over the last decade has taken us beyond the ambitious blueprint we laid out in 2009.”
Mr. Vance wrote that he was most proud of building safer communities in New York and addressing what he sees as racial inequity in the city’s criminal justice system.
“We made enduring, systemic reforms — using the power of our discretion to massively reduce our criminal justice footprint and the inequities that underlie unnecessary prosecutions,” he wrote.
Mr. Vance is perhaps best known for securing a conviction on sex crimes charges against legendary film producer Harvey Weinstein.
He is currently pursuing a wide-ranging probe into Mr. Trump’s family business and financial dealings.
It was reported this week that Mr. Vance was ramping up his investigation into Mr. Trump, zeroing on his Seven Springs estate in Westchester County, New York. Mr. Vance is said to be reviewing whether the former president inflated its value to secure loans or other financial benefits.
Mr. Trump has slammed the investigation as “a witch hunt.”
