Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil issued an order against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s after his decision to involve President Trump in a politically motivated case. The judge ruled that Mark Pomerantz, previously involved in the investigation against Trump, must respond to a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee.
The judge denied Bragg’s request to prevent House Republicans from questioning Pomerantz, who had resigned from Bragg’s office last year, in a 25-page order that was written by the judge.
“The subpoena was issued with a ‘valid legislative purpose’ in connection with the ‘broad’ and ‘indispensable’ congressional power to ‘conduct investigations,’” ruled Vyskocil, a Trump appointee. “It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.”
In recent days, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary, has subpoenaed Pomerantz and requested other employees to submit their personal emails regarding the hiring process of Bragg. Jordan is looking to investigate the criminal prosecution of Trump.
“Today’s decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomeran[t]z, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee,” Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, said in a statement.
Last week, Bragg filed a lawsuit against Jordan in order to prevent Pomerantz’s subpoena and other attempts to acquire information from prosecutors. Bragg claimed that the investigation was an obvious effort to harass and undermine the work done by his office.
“In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights …The Court does not endorse either side’s agenda. 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. He does not,” Vyskocil wrote.
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