Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has agreed to testify before the House about his hush-money case against former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty last month, but not on the date picked by Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Bragg’s counsel sent a letter to Jordan on Friday responding to invitations dated May 31 that sought testimony from Bragg and Matthew Colangelo, one of the prosecutors on Bragg’s team, for a hearing on June 13 held by the Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee.
The hearing is intended to “examine actions by state and local prosecutors to engage politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials, in particular the recent political prosecution of President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” Jordan said.
“This Office is committed to voluntary cooperation,” said General Counsel Lesli Dubeck. “That cooperation includes making the District Attorney available to provide testimony on behalf of the Office at an agreed-upon date.”
Bragg’s office is “evaluating the propriety of allowing an Assistant District Attorney to testify publicly about an active prosecution to which he is assigned,” Dubeck added.
Dubeck wrote that June 13 presents scheduling conflicts, noting there are still proceedings and orders in the case that remain, and said Jordan’s invitations did not make clear the “scope” of the proposed testimony.
Bragg’s office “requests an opportunity to engage with Committee staff to identify a new hearing date, and to better understand the scope and the purpose of the proposed hearing,” Dubeck said.
A spokesperson for Jordan told POLITICO that “everything is on the table” when determining next steps.
Jurors returned a guilty verdict against Trump on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up a tryst with adult film star Stormy Daniels as part of a “catch-and-kill” scheme to influence the 2016 election.
Trump, who denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to the charges, said he would be “appealing this scam.” Bragg praised the jury and said his team followed “the facts and the law without fear or favor.” Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
Jordan has also demanded records about Colangelo, a former official in the Department of Justice under the Biden administration, from New York Attorney General Letitia James and proposed that to defund the prosecutors who are taking on Trump in court battles that the former president — who is seeking re-election — and his allies claim are politically motivated.