The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg shot back on Thursday at House Republicans who opened an investigation this week into the potential indictment of former President Donald Trump, arguing they lack a “legitimate basis” for their inquiry.
Leslie Dubeck, the in-house general counsel for the prosecutor who is investigating Trump over alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle, called the lawmakers’ demands for communications, documents, and testimony “an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”
Their requests, Dubeck wrote, “are an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty. Congress’s investigative jurisdiction is derived from and limited by its power to legislate concerning federal matters.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) sent the letter to Bragg on Monday in response to reports indicating that an indictment against Trump was imminent. Their letter warned of “an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority: the indictment of a former President of the United States and current declared candidate for that office.”
Trump said over the weekend he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest. A spokesperson for the former president later said Trump received no “notification” other than “illegal leaks” to the media — likely referring to reports about law enforcement preparing for the possibility of an indictment.
In Bragg’s response to GOP congressional leaders, Dubeck said their inquiry “only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”
“Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” Dubeck added in the letter, which was posted online by Punchbowl News.
Dubeck cited a New York Times report that said a lawyer for Trump, Joseph Tacopina, wrote to Jordan last month calling on Congress to investigate the “egregious abuse of power” by what he described as a “rogue local district attorney.”
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In conclusion, Dubeck said Bragg’s team “will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power,” but noted his office “will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect.” To that end, Dubeck added, Bragg’s team has requested a “meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”
Trump, who announced a third campaign for the White House in November, claims Bragg’s inquiry is politically motivated and denies any wrongdoing. An indictment may come as early as next week, as the grand jury is not expected to return to the Trump case until at least Monday, according to ABC News.
Jordan announced Wednesday night that he was expanding his probe in Bragg by sending inquiries to Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, prosecutors leading the Trump investigation who resigned last year over frustrations that Bragg was being too hesitant to pursue an indictment at that time.
“Alvin Bragg should focus on prosecuting actual criminals in New York City rather than harassing a political opponent in another state,” The House Judiciary Committee, which is led by Jordan, tweeted after news of Bragg’s response letter broke. “Make Manhattan Safe Again!”