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The district attorney, Democrat Alvin Bragg, had earlier this
week appealed a lower court's ruling that the Republican-led
House of Representatives committee may depose Mark Pomerantz,
who led the Trump probe before resigning in February 2022.
Pomerantz's testimony had been scheduled for Thursday, but the
2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put it on hold. A three-judge
panel is expected to hear oral arguments on Tuesday about
whether to extend the stay until Bragg's full appeal is heard.
In papers filed on Friday, Jordan said the subpoena was covered
by a constitutional protection for "speech or debate" in
Congress. He said Pomerantz's testimony was necessary for the
committee to consider possible legislation to "help protect
current and former Presidents from potentially politically
motivated prosecutions."
Bragg is expected to reply by Saturday afternoon.
He has argued that Jordan's subpoena was part of a campaign of
intimidation in response to his indictment of Trump, the
front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
On April 4, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges tied
to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the
2016 presidential election, to prevent her from discussing a
sexual encounter she says they had.
Trump denies that the encounter occurred. Daniels' real name is
Stephanie Clifford.
Bragg has said Pomerantz's testimony could improperly reveal
confidential information related to his office's probe, and that
Congress did not have oversight of state-level criminal cases.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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