Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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The feud between House Republicans and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is heading to court, but conservative congressmen are resolute in their desire to investigate the circumstances that led to 34 felony charges being filed against former President Donald Trump.
Bragg grabbed headlines Tuesday by suing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the DA arguing that Jordan was seeking to interfere with the Manhattan justice system, but Republicans have not been dissuaded.
“First, they indict a president for no crime,” Jordan tweeted Tuesday. “Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”
Jordan has for weeks been pushing for information from Bragg’s office relating to the Trump case and allegations that Bragg is weaponizing the halls of justice. His rationale for the inquiry is that the Manhattan DA’s office receives federal funding.
Bragg’s office has refused to comply with previous requests for information from the Judiciary Committee, stating the committee lacks the authority to make such inquiries.
Most recently, Jordan subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who resigned and then wrote a book about the investigation of Trump. Now, Bragg is asking a federal judge to nullify that subpoena.
“Chairman Jordan’s subpoena is an unconstitutional attempt to undermine an ongoing New York felony criminal prosecution and investigation,” Bragg said in a statement. “As our complaint details, this is an unprecedented, illegitimate interference by Congress that lacks any legal merit and defies basic principles of federalism.”
Tuesday night, during an appearance on Fox News, Jordan countered that it was Bragg who was hampering an investigation.
“They’re obstructing our investigation,” Jordan told Fox’s Bret Baier. “We have a constitutional duty to get to the facts, particularly when you have a district attorney interfering with the most important election we have — the election of the commander-in-chief, the president of the United States.”
Jordan added,
Alvin Bragg used federal funds to indict a former president for no crime. And then when we asked questions about it, when we want to investigate, he takes us to court. And he takes us to court because we want to talk to someone who left the DA’s office a year ago, who went out and wrote a book on this very subject. Did all kinds of interviews. Was pushing to go after President Trump before he got there, while he got there, and when he left he wrote a book about it.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 11, 2023
The House Judiciary Committee has also scheduled a hearing in Manhattan for early next week.
As of this writing, the committee has listed no witnesses, but has described the hearing as one meant to “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.”
Unsurprisingly, Bragg’s office has decried the hearing.
“Don’t be fooled, the House GOP is coming to the safest big city in America for a political stunt,” a Bragg spokesperson said in a statement. “This hearing won’t engage in actual efforts to increase public safety, such as supporting national gun legislation and shutting down the iron pipeline.”
Jordan and Republicans counter that crime is rampant in New York City.
“Major crimes rose 22% in New York City last year,” Jordan tweeted Tuesday night. “Doesn’t sound like “America’s safest big city” to me.”
Bragg’s office has pointed to numbers that show violent crime decreasing in Manhattan since Bragg’s swearing-in last year.