GOP lawmakers demanding answers from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg
Rep. Brian Steil, R-Wis., on Republicans hoping to make Alvin Bragg testify if President Trump is arrested
House Democrats are furious after Republicans sent a letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday demanding that he testify before Congress ahead of a possible indictment of former President Trump.
The Democratic ranking members of the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Administration committees each blasted the joint letter from the Republican chairmen of those committees, accusing GOP lawmakers of interfering with Bragg's investigation into whether Trump committed a crime with alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
"The Republicans' letter to the Manhattan District Attorney represents an astonishing and unprecedented abuse of power as they attempt to use Congressional resources to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation at another level of government and obstruct a possible criminal indictment," said Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
"Former President Donald Trump demanded this nonsensical interference over the weekend, and these Committee chairs have acted totally outside their proper powers to try to influence a pending criminal investigation at the state level," he said.
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Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin accused Republican lawmakers of "an astonishing and unprecedented abuse of power as they attempt to use Congressional resources to interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation at another level of government and obstruct a possible criminal indictment." (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Republicans on Monday sent a letter to Bragg demanding that he appear before Congress after multiple news outlets reported the Manhattan DA's office was consulting with law enforcement about indicting Trump this week.
The potential charges stem from the $130,000 hush money payment then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made to Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
To bring charges against Trump now, Bragg is reportedly considering whether to elevate misdemeanor charges for falsifying business records, for which the statute of limitations has expired, to a felony charge of falsifying those records to conceal alleged campaign finance violations — an accusation levied at Trump which the Justice Department has already declined to prosecute.
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Former President Trump may face charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's office for alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about their previous affair during his first campaign for the White House. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
GOP lawmakers and Trump himself have questioned the legal theory under which Bragg would bring charges now, accusing the New York prosecutor of harboring political motivations. Speaking to reporters from the House Republican policy retreat in Orlando, Florida, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday a potential Trump indictment would be "purely political" and an overreach.
Writing to Bragg, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called Bragg's reported plan a "novel and untested legal theory." He insisted the "impending indictment is motivated by political calculations."
Jordan also alleged that Bragg's investigation may have used federal funding or information obtained from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Trump investigation and demanded that Bragg hand over records and communications between the Manhattan DA's office and the Justice Department referring to the Manhattan DA’s investigation of Trump, among other documents and any receipts for federal funds. He gave Bragg a March 23 deadline to comply.
Reacting, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., accused Jordan and McCarthy of "meddling" in the DA's investigation and protecting Trump "even at the expense of the American people, law enforcement and our legal system."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reportedly considering whether to bring charges against former President Trump this week. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Separately, the ranking member on the House Administration Committee, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., said Democrats "believe in the practice of allowing the professionals in their respective fields to carry out their duties effectively."
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"The prosecutors in this case will follow the facts, apply the law, and be guided by the Constitution, and only then will we look to where those investigations lead," he said. "No one, including a former President of the United States of America, is above the law. This is a defining principle of our republic and will continue to serve as such for the rest of our nation’s history."
Bragg's office has not issued a public response to the Republicans' letter.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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