Former prosecutor who led Donald Trump probe ordered to testify before US Congress panel

New York: A US court ordered on Wednesday that a former prosecutor who formerly oversaw the criminal investigation of former US President Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney must appear before a congressional committee.

Last week, Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Donald Trump in the first-ever criminal case against a former president, sued Republican Representative Jim Jordan to stop a subpoena for testimony from Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who oversaw the office’s Trump investigation.

Jordan, who is the chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, issued the summons. The deposition for Pomerantz is set for Thursday.

After hearing arguments in federal court in Manhattan on whether to block the subpoena, US District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil issued a written ruling approving the subpoena but encouraging the parties to reach a compromise as to how the subpoena of Pomerantz would proceed.

“Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition,” Vyskocil wrote, adding in a reference to a phrase frequently used by Trump’s critics, “No one is above the law.”

Less than an hour later, Bragg appealed to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. He asked Vyskocil to delay Pomerantz’s testimony until the appeal is heard, saying Jordan had not responded to a similar request.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Jordan said the decision shows “Congress has the ability to conduct oversight.”

Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Bragg, argued that Jordan was seeking to interfere in a local prosecution and “intimidate” the district attorney’s office.

Matthew Berry, the House general counsel, countered that the subpoena was covered by constitutional protection for “speech or debate” in Congress and that the committee needed Pomerantz’s testimony to weigh legislation restricting what he called “politically motivated prosecutions” of presidents.

Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, pleaded not guilty on 4 April to 34 felony charges over a hush money payment made before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said they had. He denies the liaison took place.

Vyskocil, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, said she did not endorse either side’s “agenda.” She said she presumed Bragg was acting in good faith, but some of his constituents wish to see Trump prosecuted. She said Jordan had also “initiated a political response” to Bragg’s charges.

“The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose,” she wrote. “He does not.”

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