The News
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has been sued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in an attempt to stop him and other GOP politicians from interfering in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case.
In the complaint, Bragg accuses Jordan of a “brazen and unconstitutional attack” on the Trump case.
The complaint states that starting on March 20, Jordan “began a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” Bragg by demanding confidential documents and testimony from the district attorney and his staff.
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Bragg is seeking to block Jordan’s subpoena of former Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz who was part of the team investigating Trump and his businesses dealings. Jordan, who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed Pomerantz as part of the committee’s investigation into the recent Trump indictment.
The complaint said that Congress did not have “power to supervise state criminal prosecutions” and that the subpoena threatens state sovereignty, the confidence of grand jury proceedings, and the integrity of criminal trials.
Jordan responded to the lawsuit in a tweet defending Trump.
Pomerantz and another prosecutor were tasked with investigating whether Trump had illegally inflated the values of his assets, but the two resigned after Bragg decided not to press charges because he was not confident in the case. Pomerantz later wrote a book about his experience.
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A grand jury on March 30 indicted Trump for his alleged role in securing hush money for two women before the 2016 election to suppress their claims of having affairs with him. One of those women has been publicly identified as adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the other is suspected to be former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Trump was arrested on April 4 and charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first former U.S. president to be criminally charged. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial will likely take months, if not years, to conclude, and legal experts say it is unlikely that Trump will serve any prison time if convicted.
Many Republicans, including Jordan, and some Democrats, have rushed to Trump’s defense, arguing that the criminal proceedings are politically motivated and open the door for local prosecutors to launch attacks against politicians.