Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Chief Justice Jim Jordan on Tuesday in a notable move intended to prevent him from interfering with the criminal indictment against Donald Trump.
The suit accused Jordan of committing a “scandalous and unconstitutional attack” on Trump’s impeachment trial after the committee subpoenaed Bragg’s former employee, demanded documents and planned a field hearing in New York City to detract from his office.
The 50-page lawsuit said Jordan was launching a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” Prague after it unveiled 34 criminal charges against Trump last week over the silent payments.
Bragg’s attorneys are seeking to block Jordan’s subpoena of Mark Pomerantz, who previously led the bureau’s investigation into Trump before resigning once Bragg rejected his legal theories, according to a filing. The New York Times. He later wrote a book about the need to impeach Trump.
The suit also seeks to block any further subpoenas from Jordan, who left the door open for one to be issued to Bragg himself.
Republicans are taking their fight with Manhattan Alvin Bragg to New York City on Monday where they will hold a field hearing with the “victims” of the district attorney’s policies.
Last month, Jordan and the GOP chairmen of two other committees sent a letter asking the district attorney’s office to provide communications, testimony and documents related to the Prague investigation into Trump. After Trump’s accusations were made public, they issued a subpoena for Pomerantis.
Bragg has refused to comply with document requests from Republicans. He described the Republican requests as improper interference in a criminal case.
The charges against Trump were unsealed on Tuesday and include 34 counts of falsifying business records related to $130,000 hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and “capture and kill” payments through the National Enquirer to Playboy model Karen McDougal and a doorman who allegedly had a story. On Trump’s alleged love child with a housekeeper.
Meanwhile, Republicans are taking their battle with Bragg to New York City on Monday where they will hold a field hearing with the “victims” of the attorney general’s policies.
The Judiciary Committee hearing on April 17, titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan,” will examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime and anti-victim policies led to an increase in violent crime and the formation of a dangerous community for New York City. residents’, according to a press release.
Republicans, led by Jordan, have alleged that Bragg is turning a blind eye to crime in his city while using a new legal theory to impeach Trump.
The list of witnesses has not yet been shared, and it is not clear if the Republicans will invite Bragg himself to join. At least some Democrats will be at the hearing.
From the start of 2022 when he took office until November of this year, Bragg has downgraded 52 percent of felonies to misdemeanors. When he does file a case, his office wins a conviction only 51% of the time—a low number compared to the attorney general’s office in recent years.
Republicans, led by the head of the judiciary, Jordan, Ohio, alleged that Bragg turned a blind eye to crime in his city while using a new legal theory to convict former President Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The 50-page lawsuit said Jordan launched a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack Prague after it unveiled 34 criminal charges against Trump last week over the silent payments.”
Bragg’s office disputed the Republicans’ account of New York crimes, noting that homicides and shootings have decreased in Manhattan since Bragg took office.
Don’t be fooled, the House GOP is coming to the safest major city in America for a political stunt. A spokesperson said this hearing will not be involved in actual efforts to increase public safety. The bureau noted that New York City’s homicide rate (5.2 per 100,000) is three times lower than Columbus, Ohio’s (15.4) — in an area bordering Jordan.
If President Jordan truly cared about public safety, he could take the short drive to Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron or Toledo in his home state, instead of using taxpayer money to travel hundreds of miles out of his way.
Bragg, who campaigned for criminal justice reform, issued a controversial “Day One” memo after taking office, stating that he would only seek prison time in the most serious cases.
In February 2022, Bragg backtracked slightly on his policies, sending out a memo that made it clear to all of his employees that any offense involving a firearm would be prosecuted as a felony—reversing the stance he had taken just a month earlier.
The Prague office was also hit with controversy when it tried to sue Jose Alba, a 61-year-old bodega worker, for stabbing a man who attacked him over a bag of chips. Bragg later dropped the charges against Alba.
Crime rose in New York City in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic (before Bragg took office) after a mostly decade-long downward trend. Crime overall is up about 22 percent in 2022 – with Bragg taking office on the first day of that year.
From April 2022 to April 2023, most violent crime is now down, but criminal assaults and auto thefts are on the rise.
The city is safer in 2022 than it was during a dangerous period in the 1980s and 1990s — murders and robberies are down 80 percent in 2022 compared to 1990, and rapes are down 50 percent.
