Appeals court temporarily blocks testimony of former Bragg prosecutor

A federal appeals court judge temporarily blocked the deposition of former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz before the House Judiciary Committee in an order Thursday. 

Judge Beth Robinson ruled Pomerantz should not testify until a three-judge panel from the court could weigh a subpoena issued to him by the committee and its chair, Rep. Jim Jordan. 

Pomerantz, who penned a tell-all book that detailed the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s investigation into former President Donald Trump, was scheduled to testify before the committee at 10 a.m. Thursday. 

Jordan (R-Ohio) had sought his testimony in a committee probe on whether charges were properly brought against Trump, 76, by the DA’s office and the use of federal funds in the grand jury investigation into the former president.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued to block the deposition, arguing it was an improper overreach by Congress into a local criminal investigation. 

A Manhattan federal court judge ruled Wednesday that the deposition could go forward – a decision that was appealed by both Bragg and Pomerantz. 

A three-judge panel from the circuit court will rule on the appeal after both sides submit a briefing on the issue.