REVEALED: Here’s who stopped Manhattan D.A. from charging Trump sooner

REVEALED: Here's who stopped Manhattan D.A. from charging Trump sooner

Donald Trump is now claiming that the charges against him by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office  — as yet still sealed and unrevealed — are past the statute of limitations, and cannot be brought.

Clearly Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the grand jury think otherwise, but with his argument, the former president presents an important question that the previous District Attorney just answered.

Former Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. spoke about the case on Sunday, sharing some of the process and information from his own handling of the investigation before handing it off to Bragg.

Vance has been criticized, including by former employees of the office, for delaying the case — but now he says this was in response to orders from higher up.

He says that the Southern District of New York (SDNY) was also investigating what he refers to as “the so-called hush money issue,” and that SDNY “asked [his office] to stand down.”

He says that the SDNY indicated that they were handling an investigation of this particular matter and that the Manhattan D.A.’s office should therefore put their own efforts “on hold” until further notice.

Vance did not speculate on whether SDNY was influenced or pressured by then-Attorney General William Barr in their request.

Vance says he had the discretion to decide whether to comply with that request and out of respect for the SDNY, he did so.

Later, though, after Michael Cohen was found guilty, Vance said he wondered why the SDNY didn’t move forward with their case, as his own investigation had been on pause for more than a year and a half.

He told MSNBC‘s Inside with Jen Psaki:

“The Southern District of New York, at the same time as us in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, were looking at the so-called hush money payment issue, and then we learned from the Southern District of New York that they asked us to stand down…they wished that we put our efforts on hold while they completed their investigation…So for the course of probably more than a year and a half, that’s what we did. I was surprised after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty that the investigation from the Southern District on that issue did not go forward.”

By that point, though, his office was caught up in another issue — “a two-year saga” — related to Trump, who had sued over their request for tax records.

Vance notes that case went to the Supreme Court, where the Justices affirmed that there was no sign of political motive in the investigations and that former presidents can absolutely face investigations and charges, “particularly for information that predated their presidency.”

Watch below:

Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: