Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office slammed House Republicans for demanding information on its case against former President Donald Trump in a new letter Friday.
The letter, reviewed by the Washington Examiner, was sent by Bragg’s general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, to the three House committee chairmen who have insisted that Bragg’s office provide testimony on its investigation into the former president, which resulted in charges filed Thursday.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: FORMER PRESIDENT CHARGED IN MANHATTAN HUSH MONEY CASE
“Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State’s robust criminal procedure affords,” Dubeck wrote. “What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State.”
The letter was sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI), who have demanded Bragg’s testimony on the case.
Dubeck’s Friday letter took issue with the trio’s assertion in the most recent missive that “by failing to provide” the chairmen’s requested information, “the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated.”
Bragg sent the three Republicans a separate letter last week providing legal arguments for why he would be unable to provide testimony about the inquiry, including that his investigation’s findings are confidential under state law. The lawmakers have thus far rejected those assertions.
Dubeck also chastised the House Republicans for mimicking the former president’s harsh rhetoric about Bragg’s office and the case, which he has argued is politically motivated.
“As you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in New York may unleash ‘death & destruction,'” Dubeck wrote, referencing his litany of social media posts condemning the investigation.
“As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system,” she continued. “Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the Office’s investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York State, is politically motivated.”
Dubeck concluded the letter by telling the lawmakers “to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice system proceed without unlawful political interference.”
Bragg, a Democrat who has refused to prosecute a number of offenses since taking office last January, indicted the former president on charges related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. The indictment marks the first time a former president has been criminally charged.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, testified before Congress in 2019 that he paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public about an affair she claimed to have with Trump in 2005. Cohen, who pleaded guilty and served time over the alleged payment, told lawmakers Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
