Manhattan District Attorney agrees to testify in Congress, but probably not before Trump is convicted

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

NEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed Friday to testify before what will likely be a hostile, Republican-controlled congressional subcommittee, but probably not before the sentencing of former President Donald Trump in July.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, wrote to Bragg in late May after Trump's conviction in his secret trial, accusing him of engaging in “political prosecutions” and asking him to testify at a hearing on June 13.

In a response letter, Manhattan District Attorney General Counsel Leslie Dubeck said the DA's office was “engaged in voluntary cooperation.”

This cooperation, he added, includes making Bragg, a Democrat, available to testify “at an agreed upon date.” But the letter says Jordan's chosen date presented “presents various scheduling conflicts.”

He noted that the cases against Trump were not yet complete. Trump, who was convicted of falsifying records to conceal money paid to a pornographic actor during the 2016 presidential campaign, is scheduled to be sentenced July 11. Before then, prosecutors will make recommendations to the judge on what type of punishment Trump deserves. .

“The trial and appellate courts have issued numerous orders in an effort to protect the fair administration of justice in People v. Trump, and participating in a public hearing at this time would be potentially prejudicial to these efforts,” the letter states. .

Bragg's office requested the opportunity to discuss an alternate date with the subcommittee and obtain more information about “the scope and purpose of the proposed hearing.”

Jordan also requested testimony from Matthew Colangelo, one of the lead prosecutors in the Trump case. Bragg's office did not rule out the possibility, but said in the letter that it would “evaluate the advisability” of allowing an assistant district attorney to testify publicly about an active prosecution.

Jordan, an Ohio Republican, has proposed withholding federal funding from any entity attempting to prosecute a former president. He also spoke out against what he described as the “militarization of the federal government.”

His committee previously successfully fought to obtain a deposition from a former prosecutor who worked on Trump's case, Mark Pomerantz, over Bragg's initial objections. This deposition, however, yielded little results, with Pomerantz refusing to answer many questions on the grounds that doing so could potentially expose him to criminal prosecution for disclosing secret grand jury testimony.