Court Rejects Bragg’s Request for Restraining Order Against Jordan

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently asked the court for a restraining order against Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), but the request was swiftly rejected by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, on the same day it was filed. The judge denied Bragg’s emergency request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Jordan, citing her need to review several documents mentioned in the filings. Jordan and other defendants in the case have been asked to respond to the lawsuit, and a hearing has been scheduled for April 19.

Bragg has accused Jordan of infringing on state sovereignty and lacking the constitutional power to oversee state and local criminal matters. Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has subpoenaed a former Bragg deputy and demanded documents from Bragg’s office regarding the prosecution of former President Donald Trump. Bragg has also asked the court to block Jordan and the committee from enforcing the subpoena of Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor, in what prosecutors claim is Congress’s first use of compulsory process to interfere with an ongoing state criminal case.

Jordan, in his defense, has argued that Bragg is obstructing a legitimate congressional investigation, stating that the subpoena was necessary to delve into the matter of federal funds being used to investigate Trump. Trump, who was president until early 2021, is running for a second term in 2024.