HYPOCRISY: GOP just issued first subpoena attacking Trump’s felony case

HYPOCRISY: GOP just issued first subpoena attacking Trump's felony case

Donald Trump is facing 34 felony counts in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying business records for the purpose of covering up other crimes, and Congressional Republicans are ready to fight for him–issuing their first subpoena, testing the case around the edges by starting with someone who is no longer on the case, to — former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.

Pomerantz is a strategic target in a few ways.

He’s no longer an employee of the D.A.’s office, he’s already written a book about the matter, he’s been critical of his former employer, and he’s already been criticized for information released in his book.

If Pomerantz considers declining to testify on the grounds that there is an ongoing case, or on the grounds that some information is not his to release, these issues will likely arise as counter-arguments, though whether they’d be successful remains to be seen.

The House Judiciary Committee has already requested testimony from Pomerantz, which he refused in compliance with direction from the District Attorney, so they’ve escalated to a subpoena.

Ironically, the panel’s chair is Jim Jordan, who the January 6th Committee argued had committed ethics violations by dodging a subpoena to discuss the 2020 election aftermath. The Committee says:

“Pomerantz publicly criticized Bragg for failing to aggressively prosecute President Trump and even wrote a memoir describing his eagerness to investigate President Trump and disclosing internal deliberations about the investigation. Pomerantz’s public statements about the investigation strongly suggest that Bragg’s prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated.”

Bragg has already explained, at length, that the Manhattan D.A.’s office has always taken white-collar crime very seriously and prosecutes these same charges regularly, and that the only difference this time is that it’s a person who is very high-profile and whose fans think he should be above the law.

The former D.A., Cy Vance, has also shared that orders to put the process on pause came from outside the office, and were followed by lawsuits from Trump causing further delays, and ultimately resolving with the Supreme Court affirming that there was no sign of political motivation in that investigation.

As for Pomerantz, he’s publicly addressed concerns about any conflict between his tell-all and the investigation, telling NBC that there’s “nothing in this book that should prejudice this prosecution,” and that while he’s certain Trump’s attorneys will file objections about “everything under the sun,” if anything trips the process up, he doesn’t believe it will be from his book.

Even if he does agree to testify before the House Committee, it’s likely there will be many questions Pomerantz is unable to answer, thanks to being outside the process at this point.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: