Manhattan DA Leading Trump Investigation Announces Intention to Leave Office

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance speaks at a press conference in New York City on Feb. 24, 2020. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

The district attorney leading a high-profile investigation into former President Donald Trump plans on leaving office later this year.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, a Democrat, told the New Yorker that he will not seek reelection and plans on retiring on Dec. 31.

Vance said he'd essentially made the decision before taking on the Trump case.

The 66-year-old cited the pressure of being the Manhattan district attorney.

“It turned out to be tougher than I thought it would be,” he said, adding: “There’s nothing worse than a politician who doesn’t know when to leave.”

Vance is conducting a secretive probe of Trump. He has repeatedly declined to shed insight on the investigation, though court filings indicate prosecutors believe the former president may have falsified records and committed fraud.

Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Vance’s office was able to obtain Trump’s tax returns last month after the Supreme Court decided not to block him from doing so. Last year, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote an opinion for a 7–2 ruling that rejected Trump’s argument that he was immune to state-level investigations while he was in office. Trump left office on Jan. 20.

Trump in a statement said the city “has been looking at almost every transaction I’ve ever done” and asserted the nation’s highest court “never should have let this ‘fishing expedition’ happen.”

“This is something which has never happened to a President before, it is all Democrat-inspired in a totally Democrat location, New York City and State, completely controlled and dominated by a heavily reported enemy of mine, Governor Andrew Cuomo,” he added.

Because of the city’s political makeup, Vance’s successor is all but assured to be a Democrat.

At least nine candidates are running for the office, including former Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys Liz Crotty, Diana Florence, and Lucy Lang, Assemblyman Dan Quart, and attorney Janos Marton.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.