what to know
- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Rep. Jim Jordan on Tuesday in an extraordinary move that seeks to stop a House Judiciary Committee investigation that the prosecutor says is a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack him” over his indictment against former President Donald Trump.
- Bragg, a Democrat, is asking a judge to strike down subpoenas that Jordan, a Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, has or plans to issue as part of an investigation into Bragg’s handling of the case, the first criminal prosecution of a former US president.
- Bragg’s lawsuit, a sweeping escalation after weeks of clashes with Jordan and other Republican lawmakers in letters and statements to the media, seeks to end what he says is a “constitutionally destructive fishing expedition” that threatens sovereignty and sanctity. of prosecution at the state level.
NEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Rep. Jim Jordan on Tuesday in an extraordinary move that seeks to stop an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee that the prosecutor said is a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack him” for his impeachment against former President Donald Trump.
Bragg, a Democrat, is asking a judge to strike down subpoenas that Jordan, a Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, has or plans to issue as part of an investigation into Bragg’s handling of the case, the first criminal prosecution of a former US president.
Bragg’s lawsuit, a sweeping escalation after weeks of clashes with Jordan and other Republican lawmakers in letters and statements to the media, seeks to end what he says is a “constitutionally destructive fishing expedition” that threatens sovereignty and sanctity. of prosecution at the state level.
“Congress lacks any valid legislative purpose to engage in a campaign of wanton harassment in retaliation for the district attorney’s investigation and prosecution of Mr. Trump under New York law,” the lawsuit says, citing the failure to authority in the Constitution. for Congress to “supervise, let alone disrupt, ongoing state law criminal matters.”
In response, Jordan tweeted Tuesday: “First, they impeach a president with no crime. Then they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”
The Judiciary Committee recently issued a subpoena seeking testimony from a former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz, who previously oversaw the Trump investigation and argued with Bragg over its course before leaving office last year. The committee has also sought documents and testimony from Bragg and his office. Bragg has rejected those requests.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing in Manhattan on Monday on crime in New York City and what it alleges are Bragg’s “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies. However, the district attorney’s office points to statistics showing violent crime in Manhattan has declined since Bragg took office in January 2022.
In response, Bragg said that if Jordan, who is from Ohio, “really cared about public safety,” he would travel to some of the major cities in his home state, where crime is reportedly higher than New York. York.
Bragg is represented in the lawsuit by Theodore Boutrous, a well-known First Amendment lawyer who also represented Trump’s estranged niece, Mary Trump, in legal battles with her famous uncle. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee who previously served as a federal bankruptcy court judge.
Bragg, in his lawsuit, said he is taking legal action “in response to an unprecedented and brazen unconstitutional attack by members of Congress in an ongoing criminal proceeding and investigation in New York State against former President Donald J. Trump. ”.
The Manhattan district attorney discussed the 34 felony counts against Donald Trump during a press conference shortly after his arraignment Tuesday.
Trump was charged March 30 with 34 felony falsifying business records related to hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations he had extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last week in Manhattan.
Republicans have criticized Bragg even before Trump’s impeachment.
Jordan has issued a series of letters and subpoenas to the people involved in the case. Pomerantz voluntarily refused to cooperate with the committee’s request last month at the direction of Bragg’s office, citing the ongoing investigation.
Jordan sees Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, who were the top aides tasked with running the investigation on a day-to-day basis, as catalysts for Bragg’s decision to pursue the secret money case.
Bragg’s lawsuit sets what is already a tenuous fight over the scope and limits of congressional oversight powers into new territory. House Republicans have argued that because the Manhattan case involves campaign finance and what prosecutors say was a conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election, Congress has direct oversight.
Many expected Jordan to subpoena Bragg by now, but it appears the spirited back-and-forth between the two elected officials has come to a head. Jordan’s committee has sharply criticized Bragg in recent weeks, but a court fight over a committee subpoena could impede its momentum and amplify criticism among Democrats that the panel is playing politics rather than addressing substantive issues. .
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Amiri reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
