As of Friday morning, the indictment — along with specific allegations against Trump — remained sealed. On his Truth Community site, Trump has continued his series of attacks on Bragg in all-caps posts and denounced the accusation.
“As you have no doubt, former President Trump has directed a scathing attack against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that her arrest or indictment in New York could unleash ‘death and destruction,'” Dubec wrote.
Dubec said the GOP leaders on the Judiciary Committee are Jim Jordan (Ohio); Brian Steele (Wis.) on the executive board; and James Comer (Ky.) on the Oversight Committee — could have used their positions to condemn those attacks and honor the integrity of the justice system.
“Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to cooperate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to discredit and discredit the integrity of elected prosecutors and trial judges, and to make baseless allegations that the office’s investigation is politically motivated,” Dubec wrote. “Stay away from these inflammatory allegations, withdraw your request for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without illegal political interference.”
Representatives for Jordan, Steele and Comer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
their March 25 letter to Prague office, leaders said they were seeking the documents because Congress may consider legislation that would shield former presidents from state criminal investigations for “personal actions.” Dubec accused them of inventing “a baseless pretext to interfere with the work of our office,” a justification the leaders did not cite in their request for raw materials.
Jordan and other GOP lawmakers had sent the first A letter to Prague dated 20 March It requests documents and evidence related to its investigation. The demand came after Trump said he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest.
In a response to Jordan’s first letter, Prague’s office said their request “enters territory very clearly reserved for states” — and that it came only after Trump “created a false expectation that he would be arrested,” according to his lawyers. I urge you to intervene.”
On Friday, Dubec again said the committees do not have the authority to oversee a state criminal case. He also slammed the suggestion that the Manhattan district attorney’s office failed to disprove that its investigation was politically motivated by not providing GOP lawmakers with materials they requested.
“That decision is wrong and without merit,” Dubec wrote Friday. “We are not engaged in a point-by-point rebuttal of your letter, as our office is legally restricted from publicly discussing pending criminal proceedings, as you well know, as prosecutors’ offices are located throughout the country.”
If House Republicans don’t withdraw their request, Dubec reiterated, the district attorney’s office would be willing to meet to discuss how to fulfill their request without violating their duties as prosecutors.
“Before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of subpoenaing the district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal case, we hope you will make a good faith effort to reach a negotiated settlement,” he concluded.
Jordan’s demands for Bragg’s office have drawn sharp criticism from Democrats. He, Jan. 6, 2021, pointing out that the right-wing lawmaker ignored a subpoena from the House Select Committee to investigate the attack on the US capital. Jan. 6 The committee later voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers to the House Ethics Committee.
Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since predicting nearly two weeks ago that he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and several top GOP figures — including one of Trump’s potential main rivals in the 2024 presidential election — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and editor. Trump reimbursed Cohen for legal fees in installments after becoming president. Bragg is believed to be considering charges related to the payments, which include falsifying business records, and possibly the commission of another, campaign-related crime.
Jacqueline Alemany contributed to this report.
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