Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Tuesday, escalating a standoff over the prosecutor’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.
The 50-page lawsuit, which accuses Jordan of “obstruction and interference,” seeks to block congressional subpoenas linked to his inquiry into Trump making alleged hush money payments during the 2016 election cycle.
Last week, Jordan announced a subpoena demanding a deposition from former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz, who has been gung-ho about criminally charging Trump.
Pomerantz abruptly resigned along with one other prosecutor leading the Trump inquiry in February of last year after Bragg reportedly expressed doubts about the case he inherited from his predecessor.
In a resignation letter that later came to light, Pomerantz insisted Trump was “guilty of numerous felony violations.” He has since opened a law firm with the other prosecutor who quit, Carey Dunne, and earlier this year came out with a tell-all book called “People vs. Donald Trump.”
Jordan said Pomerantz’s public statements about the investigation “strongly suggest that Bragg’s prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated.”
Trump, who has broadly denied any wrongdoing, is months into another bid for the White House. Jordan, a supporter of the former president, has placed scrutiny on federal funds being used in the probe.
Bragg’s office said roughly $5,000 in federal forfeiture money was used on expenses related to the investigation of Trump and the Trump Organization that were incurred between October 2019 and August 2021. Jordan responded by saying the panel may consider legislation “to enhance reporting requirements concerning the use of federal forfeiture funds and/or to prohibit the use of federal forfeiture funds to investigate a current or former President or presidential candidate.”
With Jordan signaling this month that others, including Bragg himself, may also be subpoenaed as they demand information from the prosecutor’s office, the lawsuit also asks the court to declare as invalid any subpoena targeting the district attorney or current or former employees of his team.
Bragg’s lawyers filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition to Jordan, the suit lists the House Judiciary Committee and Pomerantz as defendants.
“The subpoena seeks to compel Mr. Pomerantz to testify in a deposition on April 20, 2023. Chairman Jordan’s demands, including his subpoena to Mr. Pomerantz, seek highly sensitive and confidential local prosecutorial information that belongs to the Office of the District Attorney and the People of New York. Basic principles of federalism and common sense, as well as binding Supreme Court precedent, forbid Congress from demanding it,” the lawsuit says.
The Daily Wire asked the Judiciary Committee for comment and was directed to a tweet sent by Jordan on Tuesday afternoon.
“First, they indict a president for no crime. Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it,” Jordan said.
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Within a couple hours, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil denied Bragg’s motion for a temporary restraining order to freeze the subpoena against Pomerantz, but did order responses from the defendants by April 17 and scheduled a hearing for April 19 — one day before Jordan scheduled the deposition with Pomerantz.
The lawsuit comes one day after the panel announced a field hearing scheduled for next week in Manhattan to “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.”
Bragg responded by releasing a statement on Twitter defending his record and calling the planned hearing a “political stunt.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have criticized their Republican colleagues for focusing so much on Bragg.
“In a desperate attempt to protect Mr. Trump, the most extreme House Republicans are already trying to bully the law enforcement officers involved,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the ranking member on the panel, said in a statement after Trump was indicted. “I do not know how this case will be decided, but I do know that DA Bragg will not be deterred or intimidated by the political stunts Jim Jordan and [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy throw at him.”