After the Trump impeachment: Prosecutor Bragg takes another leading Republican to court

Republican Congressman Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee he chairs are responsible for an “unprecedentedly brutal and unconstitutional attack” on the pending prosecution against Trump, Braggs said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan.

Jordan leads a “campaign to intimidate and assault” District Attorney Bragg. “Congress has no authority under Article I of the Constitution to oversee, much less interfere with, pending criminal cases under state law,” it said. The move is designed to prevent the Judiciary Committee from taking action against Trump’s indictment.

In the document, Bragg asks the court to void and render void and unconstitutional a subpoena already issued by the commission — and possible other subpoenas — from former New York City attorney Mark Pomerantz. Pomerantz was involved in investigations against Trump. Jordan dismissed Tuesday: “First they don’t charge a president with a crime. Then they pursue a lawsuit to block congressional oversight when we question the federal funds they say used to do this,” he wrote on Twitter .

Last week, Trump became the first former US president in history to face criminal charges in connection with hush money payments to a New York porn star. He was briefly taken into custody and pleaded “not guilty”.

Trump ally Jordan had previously taken an aggressive stance against Bragg and action taken against him by the Judiciary Committee. He also claimed without evidence that Bragg acted under “political pressure from leftist activists”. It is possible that the committee will also summon the public prosecutor himself.

Republicans, with their majority in the House of Representatives, can direct parliamentary inquiries and try to pressure Bragg in other ways. According to media reports, the commission announced it would travel to New York in the coming days to hear the prosecution’s “victims”. After taking office in 2022, Bragg had to defend himself against allegations that he was too soft on street crime.

The now-filed lawsuit mentions indirect and direct threats against Bragg — including a message from Trump. It showed a photo collage with a picture of Trump with a baseball bat next to a photo of the prosecution. It also mentions an envelope of white powder and a death threat that arrived at Bragg’s office. The powder was later found to be harmless. The office has also received more than 1,000 calls from people claiming to be Trump supporters. Many of those calls were threatening and racist.

Before Trump was indicted, Bragg, Manhattan’s first black district attorney, had already prepared his colleagues for turbulent weeks and months. In a letter to staff quoted in the US media, he promised that all threats against the prosecutor’s office would be investigated: “We will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.” (sda/dpa)