House wants NY DA Bragg to answer for ‘politically motivated’ Trump case

WASHINGTON — The chairmen of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Monday demanded that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hand over documents and testify about “what plainly appears to be a politically motivated” prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote to the Democratic Manhattan DA that his plans to charge Trump would be “an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

“If these reports are accurate, your actions will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election,” Jordan and Comer wrote in the letter, which was also signed by House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.).

“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” the GOP chairman wrote.

The 76-year-old Trump, who has mounted a campaign for a second term in the White House, potentially a 2024 rematch against President Biden, said over the weekend that he expects to be arrested Tuesday on charges linked to his alleged payment of $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Jordan and Comer noted that federal prosecutors reviewed the matter and chose not to press similar charges against Trump, who denies an alleged 2006 tryst with Daniels. The New York charges by Bragg may be for allegedly concealing on business records the purpose of the payment.

The request for Bragg’s testimony could become a subpoena if he doesn’t comply.

The Republican leaders also asked for documents that may link the New York City case to the Justice Department.

The letter requests from Bragg “[a]ll documents and communications between or among the New York County District Attorney’s Office and the US Department of Justice, its component entities, or other federal law enforcement agencies referring or relating to your office’s investigation of President Donald Trump.”

It also seeks “all documents and communications referring or relating to the New York County District Attorney Office’s receipt and use of federal funds” and records pertaining to two former employees, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, who quit over an earlier decision not to charge Trump.