House lawmaker Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) demands Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to appear before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Federal Government on Friday.
The request for the prosecutors’ testimonies comes after the Manhattan jury handed their guilty verdict on former president Donald Trump on 34 counts of felony of falsifying business records.
After the verdict, Trump had earned more than $58 million from small donors.
According to Rep. Jordan, the hearing will attempt to unearth Bragg’s motivation to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“This hearing will examine actions by state and local prosecutors to engage politically motivated prosecutors of federal officials, in particular the recent political prosecution of President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.” Rep. Jordan wrote.
Bragg claimed that the verdict on Thursday was entirely the jury’s decision, this is despite his entering the courtroom while the jurors were deliberating to ensure that they would deliver the pre-arranged conviction.
The Manhattan DA continued, “While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial and ultimately today at this verdict in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors.”
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Congress has demanded Mr. Bragg’s testimony.
The Ohio lawmaker had also sent Bragg letters asking for documents and his testimony on the federal grants that his office had been receiving.
Rep. Jordan also subpoenaed former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who previously handled Trump’s probe.
Pomerantz claims that the subpoena puts him in an ‘impossible position,” and will require him to violate his ethical obligations.
However, a federal judge slapped Pomerantz and required him to appear for the congressional deposition.
“It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection,” wrote District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in her ruling.
“No one is above the law.”
Meanwhile, Bragg has repeatedly ignored requests for deposition by Congress since last year and accused Jordan of meddling with the Justice system.
Bragg arrogantly claimed through his spokesperson, “We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law.”
