‘Unprecedented Abuse Of Prosecutorial Authority’

Topline

Top House Republicans sent a letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday demanding he testify about his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s role in an apparent hush money payment made to a porn star in the final days of the 2016 campaign, which the GOP paints as a politically motivated probe relying on an untested legal theory ahead of his potential indictment.

Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters and staff on his airplane as he is flown to Iowa … [+] on March 13, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Key Facts

The letter called the investigation an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” claiming the DA’s office has spent years looking for an excuse to charge Trump and has now settled on a “novel legal theory untested anywhere in the country.”

Trump predicted over the weekend he will be indicted Tuesday for allegedly orchestrating a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from publicly disclosing an alleged affair between the two—Bragg could claim the payment was an illegal political donation amounting to a felony violation of campaign finance law, but legal scholars are uncertain the argument would pass muster.

House Republicans told Bragg he has a deadline of 10 a.m. Thursday to make arrangements to testify, and demanded he turn over all communications since the start of 2017 between the district attorney’s office and federal authorities concerning the Trump investigation.

The letter also asks for all Trump-related communications involving former Manhattan prosecutors Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, who resigned in protest last year over what they claimed was the slow pace of the Trump investigation—Republicans argue Bragg may bring charges against Trump in response to public criticism from the ex-prosecutors.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) signed Monday’s letter.

The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Crucial Quote

“The inference from the totality of these facts is that your impending indictment is motivated by political calculations,” the letter said.

What To Watch For

Trump has called for protests, though the Manhattan grand jury has not yet returned an indictment. The former president is expected to be booked at the district attorney’s office if he’s charged, where he will have a mugshot taken before an arraignment where he will enter a plea and then almost certainly be immediately released. New York City police were spotted Monday setting up barricades outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse.

Key Background

Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels and has distanced himself from the $130,000 payment, likening the investigation to one of several legal “witch hunts” targeting him for political reasons. The check to Daniels was signed by longtime Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who had a falling out with Trump during his presidency and has since become a vocal critic of the ex-president. The Trump Organization then appeared to reimburse Cohen for the payment with a check for legal fees, which prosecutors may argue was a falsification of business records—a misdemeanor in New York. Cohen has testified multiple times before the grand jury, but Republicans have blasted his credibility, calling him “a convicted perjurer with a demonstrable prejudice against President Trump” in Monday’s letter. Daniels ultimately went public with details of the alleged affair in 2018, saying she had the right to since Trump did not personally sign her non-disclosure agreement. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight felony counts in 2018, including a charge for violating campaign finance law related to the payment to Daniels.

Tangent

Trump is the subject of two federal special counsel investigations, and he also faces criminal and civil probes in New York for alleged financial fraud and a criminal investigation in Georgia related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump’s team filed a motion Monday to block the Georgia probe in an apparent last-minute attempt to end the investigation.