House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent letters to two former attorneys from the DA’s Manhattan office on Wednesday, seeking information that could support an allegation. The prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump by District Attorney Alvin Bragg is politically motivated.
The lawyers, Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, tried to prosecute Trump in 2022, but Bragg rejected their legal theories. They then resigned.
Since then, Trump has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election and Bragg has changed his decision to prosecute him.
Jordan has claimed that Bragg’s sudden change of heart was related to the announcement and has criticized what he describes as an “unprecedented abuse of the prosecution”.
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Former President Donald J. Trump faces an indictment from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images/Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Bragg’s office is investigating whether Trump was involved in paying hush money to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“This indictment comes after the district attorney’s office aggressively pressed charges for years, with you and other special prosecutors leading the investigation into every facet of President Trump’s finances. Last year you resigned from the office because of Bragg’s initial reluctance to to move forward with charges in 2022, Bragg is now trying to “shoehorn” the same case with identical facts in a new prosecution,” Jordan wrote.
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He added: “Based on your unique role in this case, we request your cooperation in our oversight of this politically motivated prosecution decision.”
In the letters, Jordan asks for all documents and communications between the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the Justice Department related to the Trump investigation. He also asks for all such documents and communications between the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Pomerantz and Dunne.
Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, in Washington, DC, U.S., on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jordan is also seeking any documents between the two officials and the Manhattan DA’s office related to their appointments as special assistant district attorneys.
“In January 2022, shortly after Bragg took office, he expressed doubts about President Trump’s case and suspended the investigation. This decision caused you and your colleague, Mark Pomerantz, to resign in protest,” the Republican chairman wrote. in the letter to Dunne. “It now appears that your efforts to disgrace Bragg have worked as he is reportedly reviving a so-called ‘zombie’ case against President Trump using a tenuous and untested legal theory.”
A doorman stands outside Trump Tower in Manhattan awaiting a possible indictment against former President Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office on March 22, 2023 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NYPD officers set up stair barricades outside Trump Tower on March 21, 2023 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Jordan also tried to poke holes in the potential indictment, saying former Trump attorney Michael Cohen could not reasonably be considered “an unbiased and credible witness.”
“In addition, Bragg’s star witness – Michael Cohen – has a serious credibility problem as a convicted perjury and serial manufacturer with demonstrable bias against President Trump,” the lawmaker wrote.
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In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple crimes, including paying hush money in an attempt to influence the election, lying and campaign finance violations.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he lands at Quad City International Airport en route to Iowa on Monday, March 13, 2023 in Moline, IL. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Ohio legislature concluded that “the whole of these facts is that Bragg’s impending indictment is motivated by political calculations.”
“The facts of this case have not changed since 2018 and no new witnesses have emerged. The Justice Department investigated the facts in 2019 and chose not to pursue any further prosecution at that time. However, the investigation was reportedly “gained some momentum this year,” and Bragg’s office, “convened a new grand jury in January to evaluate the matter.” The only intervening factor, it seems, was President Trump’s announcement that he would run for president in 2024.”
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Jordan’s duplicate letters come just days after Trump announced he would be arrested Saturday in New York and urged his supporters to “protest.”
No arrests were made and only a small group of people showed up outside his Trump Tower.
Fox News’ Tyler Olsen contributed to this report.