Alvin Bragg, the local district attorney in Manhattan, has sued Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) with an aim of blocking any enforcement of a subpoena recently issued from the House Judiciary Committee for Mark Pomerantz, who’d worked as a top prosecutor on Bragg’s team.
Pomerantz and Carey Dunne left Bragg’s employ amid frustrations with the halting pace of progress against Trump, who has now been criminally charged in connection with an investigation from Bragg’s office. Jordan, in turn, leads the House Judiciary Committee in this Congress and with fellow Republicans including Reps. James Comer (Ky.) and Bryan Steil (Wisc.) has sought revealing information about the inner workings of Bragg’s investigation of Trump. What they sought, besides information directly from Pomerantz, also included copies of communications involving Pomerantz or Dunne and relating to Trump. Bragg himself could also be subpoenaed, as the Republicans have also brought up obtaining related testimony from him. They’ll also be there soon, with the House Judiciary Committee scheduling a field hearing for New York City highlighting ostensible problems with crime under Bragg.
“Mr. Bragg’s lawyers, including Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. of the law firm Gibson Dunn and Leslie Dubeck, the general counsel in the district attorney’s office, also intend to prevent any other such subpoenas, the lawsuit says,” according to The New York Times, which was discussing the new case against Jordan. This lawsuit is not the first sign of opposition from Bragg to the efforts by Jordan and his Republican colleagues.
Bragg’s team has rejected Jordan’s quest for insider details at turn after turn. “The House GOP continues to attempt to undermine an active investigation and ongoing New York criminal case with an unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation,” Bragg’s office asserted in reply. “Repeated efforts to weaken state and local law enforcement actions are an abuse of power and will not deter us from our duty to uphold the law.” Elsewhere, Leslie Dubeck of Bragg’s own office has also criticized the Republicans for basically ignoring real-world threats from Trump’s rhetoric, which already included a reference to so-called death and destruction potentially accompanying any criminal charges. Although a loud and closely watched group of people showed up outside a Manhattan courthouse for Trump’s recent arraignment, there actually haven’t been that many prominent protests from Trump’s supporters connected to the criminal charges, particularly in New York City, which is largely Democratic anyway.
