Manhattan DA Sues to Stop Republican 'Intimidation' in Trump Case

Facts

• Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg on Tuesday sued US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, to halt what he called a 'campaign of intimidation' against the criminal prosecution of former Pres. Donald Trump in New York.¹
• Bragg, a Democrat who charged Trump with 34 felonies related to hush-money payments to an adult film star, is asking a federal judge to block a subpoena the committee served on Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who worked on the Trump case.²
• The lawsuit claims that the summons is an unconstitutional, unprecedented interference by Congress in defiance of basic principles of federalism.³
• Pomerantz, who quit Bragg's office last year urging that Trump be prosecuted, was subpoenaed just two days after the former president was charged with the felony counts. He is expected to sit for deposition on April 20.⁴
• DA Bragg argues that Congress is neither entitled to supervise state criminal prosecutions, nor has the power to serve subpoenas 'for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to punish those investigated.'⁵
• In response, Jordan accused him of indicting Trump despite an absence of criminal activity, and of now trying to obstruct congressional oversight over the alleged use of federal funds for the charge.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Wall Street Journal, ³CBS, ⁴New York Post, ⁵The hill and ⁶FOX News.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. If Republicans wish to talk about political motives, they need look no further than House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's promise to 'hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.' It is the House GOP, not some New York attorney, that is abusing its power for political gains. The Supreme Court, in a case specifically involving Trump, has already ruled that Congress does not have unlimited subpoena power, and it certainly has no power to interrogate state prosecutors during an ongoing state criminal case.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Federalist. Throughout its two-and-a-half-year investigation into Trump, DA Bragg's office hired outside attorneys from the NY Attorney General's office, the Biden Justice Dept., and private law firms, one of which hosted a $2,800-per-plate fundraiser for Biden while another helped raise $100k for the then-candidate. Beyond the unusual nature of hiring so many extra lawyers, each and every one of them either currently works for Democrats or donated to Democrats. This is obviously a political witch hunt, and the GOP needs to investigate it before the 2024 election is hijacked.

Predictions