The subpoena of Mark Pomerantz, who led the New York investigation into Donald Trump’s finances before resigning in protest, was an escalation of Republican efforts to protect the former president.
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Representative Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, issued a subpoena to Mark Pomerantz on Thursday.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans issued a subpoena on Thursday to a former Manhattan prosecutor who investigated former President Donald J. Trump, moving quickly after Mr. Trump’s arraignment this week to dissect the active criminal case against him and scrutinize the office pursuing it.
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and the Judiciary Committee chairman, sent the order to compel a deposition from Mark F. Pomerantz, a former New York County special assistant district attorney, on April 20. The move was an escalation of the G.O.P.’s bid to use its power in Congress to try to protect Mr. Trump, the first president or former president to be indicted in a criminal case, as he pushes forward with another run for the White House.
Mr. Pomerantz had led the investigation into Mr. Trump’s finances before resigning in protest in February after Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, appeared reluctant to move forward with a case against Mr. Trump.
While Republicans have promised to scrutinize the work of Mr. Bragg, who filed criminal charges against Mr. Trump on Tuesday, they have held off for now in issuing him a subpoena, wrestling privately with how to move forward amid legal and institutional concerns about overreach and how to enforce a subpoena in court.
Republicans argue that Mr. Pomerantz’s public criticism of Mr. Bragg and the fact that he wrote a memoir that disclosed details and deliberations about the investigation strengthen their case for why he should testify.
Mr. Pomerantz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But he previously told the Judiciary Committee he would not be providing documents or testimony to the panel, citing instructions from the district attorney’s office.
In a letter obtained by The New York Times, the office’s general counsel told him “to not provide any information or materials relating to your work” to the Judiciary panel. But Mr. Jordan argued in a letter accompanying the subpoena that Mr. Pomerantz had “already discussed many of the topics relevant to our oversight” in his book published in February, and in interviews promoting it.
“As a result, you have no basis to decline to testify about matters before the committee that you have already discussed in your book and/or on a prime-time television program with an audience in the millions, including on the basis of any purported duty of confidentiality or privilege interest,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
In a statement, the New York district attorney’s office chastised Mr. Jordan, accusing him of attempting to interfere in a criminal case.
“The House G.O.P. continues to attempt to undermine an active investigation and ongoing New York criminal case with an unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation,” the statement said. “Repeated efforts to weaken state and local law enforcement actions are an abuse of power and will not deter us from our duty to uphold the law.”
Mr. Bragg’s office formally accused Mr. Trump this week of covering up a potential sex scandal during the 2016 presidential campaign, presenting 34 felony charges against the former president over allegations of falsifying business records.
In response, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, pledged to use the investigative powers of the House to hold Mr. Bragg “accountable” for his work against Mr. Trump. Mr. McCarthy said Mr. Bragg was using “politicized charges” against Mr. Trump in an attempt to “interfere in our democratic process.”
William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting from New York.
Source: nytimes.com
