House Republicans, Manhattan DA end fight over Trump inquiry
Related video above: Manhattan DA lays out case against Trump
House Republicans and the Manhattan district attorney's office reached an agreement Friday to end a legal dispute over a House Judiciary Committee inquiry into former President Donald Trump's historic indictment.
Under the agreement, committee members will be able to question former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz under oath next month in Washington, resolving a lawsuit in which District Attorney Alvin Bragg had sought to block Pomerantz from testifying.
Among the committee's concessions, Pomerantz will be accompanied by a lawyer from Bragg's office, which is not typically allowed in Congressional depositions.
Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s office and the Judiciary Committee reached the agreement after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that temporarily halted enforcement of a House subpoena that had called for Pomerantz to testify.
The appeals court had been scheduled to hear oral arguments in the dispute on Tuesday.
Bragg's office said the agreement, delaying Pomerantz's testimony until May 12, preserves the district attorney's 바카라 게임 웹사이트privileges and interests바카라 게임 웹사이트 in his ongoing Trump prosecution.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Our successful stay of this subpoena blocked the immediate deposition and afforded us the time necessary to coordinate with the House Judiciary Committee on an agreement that protects the District Attorney바카라 게임 웹사이트s privileges and interests,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s office said in a statement.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We are pleased with this resolution, which ensures any questioning of our former employee will take place in the presence of our General Counsel on a reasonable, agreed upon timeframe. We are gratified that the Second Circuit바카라 게임 웹사이트s ruling provided us with the opportunity to successfully resolve this dispute,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s office said.
Bragg had appealed to the 2nd Circuit after a lower court judge ruled Wednesday that there was no legal basis to block the Judiciary Committee바카라 게임 웹사이트s subpoena and that Pomerantz바카라 게임 웹사이트s deposition must go forward as scheduled.
Under the agreement, Bragg withdrew his appeal.
Russell Dye, a spokesperson for committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said in a statement, 바카라 게임 웹사이트Mr. Pomerantz바카라 게임 웹사이트s deposition will go forward on May 12, and we look forward to his appearance.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Pomerantz once oversaw the yearslong Trump investigation but left the job after clashing with Bragg over the direction of the case. He recently wrote a book about his work pursuing Trump and discussed the investigation in interviews on 바카라 게임 웹사이트60 Minutes바카라 게임 웹사이트 and other shows.
Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jordan and the Judiciary Committee last week seeking to block the subpoena. His lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, argued that seeking Pomerantz바카라 게임 웹사이트s testimony was part of a 바카라 게임 웹사이트transparent campaign to intimidate and attack바카라 게임 웹사이트 Bragg and that Congress was 바카라 게임 웹사이트invading a state바카라 게임 웹사이트 to investigate a local prosecutor when it had no authority to do so.
Boutrous said House Republicans바카라 게임 웹사이트 interest in Bragg amounted to Congress 바카라 게임 웹사이트jumping in and haranguing the D.A. while the prosecution is ongoing.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The Judiciary Committee started scrutinizing Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s investigation of the former president in the weeks that preceded his indictment. Jordan sent letters seeking interviews with Bragg and documents before subpoenaing Pomerantz. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, said in her ruling Wednesday that she would handle any legal fights that may arise from other subpoenas in the committee바카라 게임 웹사이트s investigation of Bragg.
A committee lawyer, Matthew Berry, said at that hearing that Congress has legitimate legislative reasons for wanting to question Pomerantz and examine Bragg바카라 게임 웹사이트s prosecution of Trump, citing the office바카라 게임 웹사이트s use of $5,000 in federal funds to pay for Trump-related investigations.
Congress is also considering legislation, offered by Republicans in the wake of Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s indictment, to change how criminal cases against former presidents unfold, Berry said. One bill would prohibit prosecutors from using federal funds to investigate presidents, and another would require any criminal cases involving a former president be resolved in federal court instead of at the state level.
House Republicans, Berry said, want to protect the sovereignty and autonomy of the presidency, envisioning a scenario where the commander-in-chief could feel obligated to make certain decisions to avoid having local prosecutors in politically unfavorable jurisdictions charge them with crimes after they leave office.
For those reasons, Berry argued, Congress is immune from judicial intervention, citing the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Pomerantz could refuse to answer certain questions, citing legal privilege and ethical obligations, and Jordan would rule on those assertions on a case-by-case basis, Berry said, but he shouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트t be exempt from showing up. If Jordan were to overrule Pomerantz and he still refused to answer, he could then face a criminal referral to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress, but that wouldn바카라 게임 웹사이트t happen immediately, Berry said.
Trump was indicted last month on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
