(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a lawsuit today that seeks to block subpoenas from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is seeking records about his office’s prosecution against former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jordan’s subpoena recipients include Mark Pomerantz, who had been leading a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Jordan’s committee launched a probe into possible prosecutorial abuse by Bragg, days after he charged Trump in a 34-count felony indictment in connection with an alleged hush-money scheme.
The Manhattan D.A.’s office has accused Jordan’s committee of overstepping its legal authority and infringing on New York state sovereignty, despite the fact that Bragg is attempting to use federal law to beef up the misdemeanor charges, which already have passed New York’s statute of limitations otherwise.
On Tuesday, Bragg took his allegations to court.
NEWS: BRAGG is suing Jim JORDAN and House Republicans for what he says is an "unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack" on his Trump probe.
The lawsuit: https://t.co/59buQam15Z
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 11, 2023
“Congress has no power to supervise state criminal prosecutions … Yet that is precisely what Chairman Jordan is trying to do. He and his allies have stated they want the District Attorney to come to Capitol Hill to explain himself and to provide ‘a good argument’ to Congress in support of his decision to investigate and prosecute Mr. Trump,” Bragg said in his lawsuit.
“But subpoenaing a former line prosecutor to talk about an ongoing criminal prosecution and investigation is no less of an affront to state sovereignty than subpoenaing the District Attorney himself.”
Bragg asked a New York judge to declare the subpoena served on Pomerantz as unconstitutional. He also wants the judge to protect him “in the event Chairman Jordan or the Committee serves subpoenas on the District Attorney himself or any of his current or former employees or officials.”
Bragg has hired the private law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to assist his office in the lawsuit.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
