Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Jim Jordan requests Bragg testimony after Trump verdict


House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on Friday requested testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and prosecutor Matthew Colangelo for a hearing related to former President Donald Trump's hush money trial.

Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying his business records on Thursday, to hide a hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has maintained his innocence since the guilty verdict, and vowed to appeal the ruling, which experts have predicted will be overturned. He will be sentenced on July 11.

Jordan requested that the testimony from Colangelo and Bragg take place on June 13, according to a letter Jordan shared on X. The testimony will be part of a hearing titled "Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The hearing will focus on the “unprecedented political prosecution of President Trump.”

Bragg has repeatedly denied invitations to testify in front of the committee, suggesting last year that Jordan was interfering with the Justice system.

“We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law,” a spokesperson for Bragg’s office said at the time, according to The Hill.

Bragg has also defended his pursuit of Trump in comments since the guilty verdict, claiming that the trial came to its conclusion in the same manner that all other trials do.

"While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial, and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors," Bragg said on Thursday, per Axios.

Jordan has also previously had an interest in Colangelo and his hiring in the Manhattan DA's office. Colangelo has a notable background in working on cases related to the former president, and gave the opening statement in the New York trial. He previously worked at the Justice Department.

He previously helped with a 2018 case where his firm sued Trump's charity organization, claiming it improperly used funds. He was also on the New York Attorney General's probe into the Trump Organization, which laid the groundwork for the current New York Attorney General Letitia James's fraud suit against the organization. 

Jordan has given both Bragg and Colangelo until end of day on June 7 to respond to his requests.


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