The political back-and-forth between Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Republican House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan ramped up Tuesday as Bragg announced he was suing Jordan over his congressional investigation into Bragg’s indictment of former President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in the Southern District of New York seeks to block Congress from compelling Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in Bragg’s office, to testify at a congressional hearing on April 20.
Bragg accused Jordan of waging a “campaign to intimidate and attack” him and his employees over their indictment of Trump for 34 felonies of falsification of business records over Trump’s alleged attempt to hide hush payments to an adult film actress before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump pleaded not guilty in an arraignment hearing in Manhattan last week.
Jordan tweeted Tuesday that his subpoena was merely over the federal funds allegedly used by the district attorney’s office to investigate Trump. He responded incredulously to Bragg’s lawsuit.
“First they indict a president for no crime,” he said in a tweet. “Then they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”
Jordan and several of his GOP House colleagues have insinuated that Bragg’s indictment was politically motivated and a potential abuse of power. Last week, Jordan subpoenaed Pomerantz who had worked with Bragg on investigating Trump.
Jordan claimed a congressional investigation was necessary to inform future legislation.
“The New York County District Attorney’s unprecedented prosecutorial conduct requires oversight to inform the consideration of potential legislative reforms that would, if enacted, insulate current and former presidents from such politically motivated state and local prosecutions,” Jordan said.
Bragg, a Democrat, denied that politics had a part to play in his decision to press charges against Trump. In his lawsuit, he said Jordan’s congressional investigation is a “brazen and unconstitutional attack.”
“In sum, Congress lacks any valid legislative purpose to engage in a free-ranging campaign of harassment in retaliation for the district attorney’s investigation and prosecution of Mr. Trump under the laws of New York,” the court documents say. “(Jordan’s investigation) is a direct threat to federalism and the sovereign interests of the state of New York. This court should enjoin the subpoena and put an end to this constitutionally destructive fishing expedition.”
Pomerantz is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, which is a formality by and large but would bar him from testifying if a judge acts on the case.
Field hearing in New York City
Jordan’s House Judiciary Committee also announced Monday that it would hold a “field hearing” in New York City later this month to “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime.”
“Don’t be fooled,” a spokesperson for Bragg said in response. “The House GOP is coming to the safest big city in America for a political stunt.”
The House Judiciary Committee plans to hold the New York City hearing next Monday.
Other Democrats, including Rep. Dan Goldman, in whose district the hearing is scheduled, said Jordan is “not welcome” in the city.
“Instead of focusing on improving the lives of the American people, Jim Jordan has decided to come to my district at the behest of Donald Trump to continue to weaponize Congress to obstruct an ongoing, non-federal criminal prosecution,” Goldman said in a statement.