Judge Denies Alvin Bragg’s Attempt to Stop House GOP Probe Into Trump Arrest

A federal judge ruled against Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s attempt to stop a House GOP probe into his arrest of former president Donald Trump.

U.S. district judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ruled Wednesday that Republican representative Jim Jordan (Ohio) and his House Judiciary Committee have the legal basis to question former Bragg deputy Mark Pomerantz, who left the office in February 2022 over the Trump investigation.

“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,” Vyskocil wrote in a 25-page opinion. “Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.”

Bragg appealed the ruling. He is seeking to enact a restraining order against the Republican probe that he calls a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” his office and its case against Trump. The former president is accused of falsifying business records surrounding alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

House Republicans launched a probe into Bragg’s case in March and in early April subpoenaed Pomerantz, who wrote last year in his resignation letter that he thinks “Donald Trump is guilty of numerous felony violations.”

Pomerantz left the office over Bragg’s delay in investigating the former president. House Republicans think “Pomerantz’s public statements” on the investigation suggest “that Bragg’s prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated.”

Jordan responded to Bragg’s lawsuit last week saying, “First, they indict a president for no crime. Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”

Bragg charged Trump, who was arraigned on April 4 in Manhattan, with 34 counts of falsifying business records. House Republicans have scrutinized Bragg since late March when Trump announced his imminent arrest. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) said putting Bragg on the witness stand is a “top priority.”