Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg sues Jim Jordan over alleged interference in Trump case
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Tuesday, asking a court to stop a GOP-led congressional inquiry into Bragg's indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Bragg's lawsuit calls the inquiry, conducted by the House Judiciary Committee, an "unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack" into an ongoing criminal investigation.
"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 lawsuit added, noting that the Constitution does not give Congress the power to interfere in state investigations.
Trump was charged last week with 34 felony counts of fraud tied to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels right before the 2016 election. The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Bragg's lawsuit comes after Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who had previously investigated Trump. Bragg asked for this subpoena to be quashed, arguing in the lawsuit that allowing the Republican-led committee to question Pomerantz would cause "imminent irreparable harm if the secret and privileged material is compelled to be disclosed."
In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, NBC News reports, Bragg said that Jordan's actions constitute "an unconstitutional attempt to undermine an ongoing New York felony criminal prosecution and investigation," and "an unprecedented, illegitimate interference by Congress that lacks any legal merit and defies basic principles of federalism."
In response to the lawsuit, Jordan tweeted, "First, they indict a president for no crime. Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it."
An initial hearing on Bragg's lawsuit has been scheduled for April 19.
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