In a surprise to some, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has acceded to a request by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to appear before Congress and face questions about whether his successful prosecution of former President Donald Trump for white-collar fraud was politically motivated.
Trump was found guilty on 34 counts on May 30.
Now it could be Bragg’s turn, the key witness:
Bragg’s response comes after the head of the Justice Department Jim Jordan (Republican from Ohio) required in a letter last month that Bragg and Matthew Colangelo, another prosecutor in the case, testify at a June 13 hearing on the “unprecedented political prosecution of President Trump.” Now prosecutors responded on Friday by saying the office is “committed to voluntary cooperation,” District Attorney Leslie Dubeck said in a letter obtained by The Hill.
As we reported, Jordan sent a letter on May 31 “requesting” Bragg’s appearance. In the document, he summarized the purpose of the hearing:
This hearing will examine the actions of state and local prosecutors in connection with politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials, particularly the recent political prosecution of President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Dear Alvin Bragg, Jim Jordan and the Special Committee on Weapons Technology would like to have a word with you
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 31, 2024
The committee also sent a nearly identical letter to Matthew Colangelo (the former “number three” under Biden at the Justice Department, who resigned from that position to serve as lead prosecutor on the Trump prosecution team in Bragg’s office). It is not clear from Bragg’s response whether Colangelo will also appear.
In the [Bragg] The letter also stated that Colangelo’s testimony had not been ruled out, but that they wanted to “assess its appropriateness” in lightweight of the ongoing proceedings.
They were also quite coy about the exact timing of Bragg’s appearance, resorting to the tried and tested method of “scheduling conflicts”.
“The trial court and the courts of appeals have issued numerous orders protecting the fair administration of justice in People v. Trump, and attending a public hearing at this time would potentially harm those efforts,” they wrote in the letter.
Dubeck also asked Jordan’s office for more information about “the scope and purpose of the proposed hearing” and the possibility of negotiating another date.
In other words, they will drag things out as long as possible – if they get their way, possibly until after the presidential election in November.
No one expected District Attorney Alvin Bragg to willingly cooperate with constitutional qualified oversight. Of course, once again, he has been proven right. We can simply exploit a tape recorder that repeats over and over again, “I am not permitted to answer any questions about an ongoing investigation.” https://t.co/5qEKQgHe37
— DaveH (@Pscc8082) June 8, 2024
If Bragg does show up, the hearing would be heated. Many leading experts and politicians from both camps considered the case highly questionable and a clear weapon against the New York justice system. Jordan called the outcome of the case as a “judicial farce” and threatened Withhold financing from the Justice Department, which was in charge of investigating Trump. It is unthreatening to assume that the Ohio congressman will attack Bragg and try to tear apart his motivations for pursuing the former president on such ridiculous charges.
If he gets the chance.
Related:
RFK Jr.’s reaction to Trump’s conviction? “You can’t save democracy by destroying it first”
Watch Manhattan DA Bragg’s provocative response to Trump’s conviction; he considers himself a true statesman
