In an effort to prevent congressional Republicans from meddling in the criminal case, the Manhattan district attorney who is pursuing former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against a legislator.
On Tuesday, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was named in a 50-page lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit accuses Jordan of launching a ‘brazen and unconstitutional onslaught’ against the prosecutors looking into Trump’s hush money issue.
Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, has led a ‘transparent campaign to intimidate and attack’ on Bragg, claims the suit.
The lawsuit comes a week after Bragg unveiled 34 felony charges against Trump and the ex-president was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. Trump has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
In the suit, Bragg slams Jordan and House Republicans for subpoenaing former assistant district attorney Mark Pomerantz, who was involved in the Trump probe.
‘Rather than allowing the criminal process to proceed in the ordinary course, Chairman Jordan and the committee are participating in a campaign of intimidation, retaliation and obstruction,’ states the suit.
Bragg seeks a court order barring Pomerantz from complying with the subpoena. Pomerantz resigned in early 2022, weeks after Democrat Bragg assumed the district attorney role and decided against seeking an indictment on Trump at the moment.
The subpoena marked a significant escalation in the clash between the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee and Bragg’s office. Bragg is investigating Trump’s alleged involvement in a hush payment to silence porn star Stormy Daniels’ claims of an affair with the ex-president. Bragg’s lawsuit is a tremendous effort to stop interference in the case.
Jordan responded by tweeting on Tuesday afternoon: ‘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.’
Since Trump predicted his arrest on March 18, Bragg’s office has received more than 1,000 phone calls and emails from the ex-president’s supporters including many that are ‘threatening and racially charged’, according to the suit.