Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has taken legal action against Republican Representative Jim Jordan, alleging the congressman attempting to intimidate and attack him over his indictment of former President Donald Trump, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Bragg filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate subpoenas that Rep. Jordan has issued or plans to issue, as part of an investigation into Bragg’s handling of the case, which is the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president.
The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed testimony from former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who previously oversaw the Trump investigation and disagreed with Bragg over its direction.
The committee has also sought testimony and documents from Bragg’s office, which he has rejected.
While Bragg’s office claimed there has been a decline in violent crime in Manhattan since he took office in January 2022, the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday to discuss crime in New York City and what it alleges are Bragg’s “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies, AP notes.
According to data from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, 52% of felony arrests were downgraded to misdemeanors in the previous year, compared to 39% in 2019. The data also revealed that felony cases resulting in convictions decreased by 18 percentage points during this period.
The lawsuit, according to Bragg, is “in response to an unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress on an ongoing New York State criminal prosecution and investigation of former President Donald J. Trump.”
Jordan has sent several letters and subpoenas to those involved in the case.
Pomerantz, who Bragg instructed not to voluntarily comply with the committee’s request, declined to cooperate with the subpoena last month citing the ongoing investigation.
Jordan claims Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, two top deputies who oversaw the investigation, are catalysts for Bragg’s decision to proceed with the hush money case.
On March 30, Trump was indicted on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records linked to hush-money payments made during the 2016 election cycle to suppress allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.
He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Manhattan last week.
