Cyrus Vance Jr., New York district attorney

Months after weathering criticism over dropping investigations into two high-profile targets with lawyers who contributed to the election campaign of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., the DA announced on Monday that he will no longer take donations from attorneys with business before his office.

In a statement from his campaign, Vance said he would implement a “blinding” procedure that conceals the names of donors as well as caps the amount he will take from law partners of attorneys appearing before his office.

Vance's announcement came on the same day that Columbia Law School's Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity released a report on Vance's fundraising practices that was completed at Vance's request but intended to apply to all 62 of New York's district attorneys.

The report suggests blind fundraising, limiting or refusing donations from attorneys that could present a conflict of interest and refusing donations from staff or their spouses.

The report states that political donations to DAs can be problematic, not only because of the possibility of real quid pro quo by a DA in exchange for donations or an unconscious bias in favor of a donor, but also because it can create the impression of “undue influence.”

“The vast majority of district attorneys are ethical and honest public servants, who make their decisions based entirely on appropriate, fact-based and relevant criteria,” the report states. “However, as DA Vance has recognized, even where decisions are made solely on the facts of the case at hand, there can be a perception problem when someone involved in a case before the DA has donated to the DA's campaign.”

Vance took heat in October when it was revealed his office dropped investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct against film mogul Harvey Weinstein and allegations that Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. made misleading statements to attract prospective buyers for the Trump SoHo hotel.

Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson Torres, a longtime attorney for the Trump family, donated more than $50,000 to Vance's campaign in two separate donations, but Vance has since returned the money.

David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner, who has represented Weinstein—though not before Vance's office—donated $10,000 to Vance's campaign after the investigation into Weinstein was dropped.

The Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity's report states that from 2008 to 2017, Vance took more than $2.3 million in donations from law firms.

Vance also said in the statement that the State Assembly should also take action to reform New York's campaign finance laws, which should include a matching funds program for DA's races.