{"id":1917119,"date":"2023-04-20T09:27:33","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T13:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-nukes-alvin-braggs-request-to-quash-subpoena-because-no-one-is-above-the-law\/"},"modified":"2023-04-20T09:32:04","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T13:32:04","slug":"judge-nukes-alvin-braggs-request-to-quash-subpoena-because-no-one-is-above-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-nukes-alvin-braggs-request-to-quash-subpoena-because-no-one-is-above-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Nukes Alvin Bragg\u2019s Request To Quash Subpoena Because \u2018No One Is Above The Law\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-nukes-alvin-braggs-request-to-quash-subpoena-because-no-one-is-above-the-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1917119&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>A federal judge on Wednesday denied Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s request for a court order to prevent the House Judiciary Committee from questioning a former prosecutor involved in the investigation of Donald Trump. Bragg, however, didn\u2019t just lose on the merits. The court\u2019s 25-page <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nysd.597015\/gov.uscourts.nysd.597015.44.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">order<\/a> eviscerated the Manhattan D.A. \u2014 and his former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nysd.597015\/gov.uscourts.nysd.597015.31.1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">issued<\/a> a subpoena directing Pomerantz to appear before the House Judiciary Committee at 10:00 on April 20, 2023. Pomerantz was previously a special assistant district attorney before abruptly resigning because Bragg had allegedly decided not to seek criminal charges against Trump.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1204595639\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-053cbf4d81eca21a1ddb9a94837752b0 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-053cbf4d81eca21a1ddb9a94837752b0\"><\/div>\n<p>Bragg responded to news of the subpoena by directing Pomerantz not to provide any information about his prior work to the Judiciary Committee. He also filed a complaint in federal court against Jordan and the committee, seeking an order declaring the Pomerantz subpoena invalid. Bragg simultaneously sought entry of a temporary restraining order to freeze the subpoena pending resolution of his lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil denied Bragg\u2019s request to stop the Judiciary Committee from questioning Pomerantz. \u201cMr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law,\u201d Vyskocil wrote in a transparent swipe at the New York prosecutor who hung his <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/05\/alvin-braggs-trump-indictment-is-even-more-pathetic-and-partisan-than-we-could-have-imagined\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pathetic<\/a> indictment on that platitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While Bragg posited that the Judiciary Committee lacked a valid legislative purpose to issue the subpoena, Vyskocil rejected that argument. Congressional committees have the constitutional authority to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas, the court explained, and the court\u2019s role is \u201cstrictly limited to determining only whether the subpoena is \u2018plainly incompetent or irrelevant\u2019\u201d to any legitimate committee purpose. Because Jordan and the committee identified several valid legislative purposes underlying the subpoena, the court held Bragg could not quash it.<\/p>\n<p>The court also held that the \u201cspeech or debate clause,\u201d which provides that \u201cfor any Speech or Debate in either House,\u201d Senators and Representatives \u201cshall not be questioned in any other Place,\u201d likely would prevent Bragg from suing Jordan and the committee.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d1c33fc12d66460ac81ec63cd9fdfb79 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d1c33fc12d66460ac81ec63cd9fdfb79\"><\/div>\n<p>Vyskocil also rejected Bragg\u2019s argument that requiring Pomerantz to submit to questioning would infringe on the attorney-client and work-product privilege the Manhattan D.A.\u2019s office held regarding communications Pomerantz was privy to. Here, the court stressed that the indictment of Trump occurred long after Pomerantz had resigned and that any privilege that may have existed was likely waived by Pomerantz publishing his book, \u201cPeople vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs its subtitle indicates, the book recounts Pomerantz\u2019s <em>insider<\/em> insights, mental impressions, and his front row seat to the investigation and deliberative process leading up to\u201d the Trump indictment, the court wrote. Yet Bragg did next to nothing to stop the publication of the book. Under these circumstances, \u201cBragg cannot seriously claim that any information <em>already published<\/em> in Pomerantz\u2019s book and discussed on prime-time television in front of millions of people is protected from disclosure,\u201d the court concluded.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It Gets Better<\/h2>\n<p>The court\u2019s conclusion, however, wasn\u2019t the highlight of the decision. Rather it was Vyskocil\u2019s summary of how the country arrived at a place where it sees a state prosecutor filing a complaint in federal court against the House Judiciary Committee that includes 35 pages and a vast majority of exhibits that \u201care nothing short of a public relations tirade against former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That descriptor alone should give pause to anyone still believing Bragg\u2019s indictment of Trump was righteous. But the opinion highlighted many more facts that confirm the targeting of Trump was a witch hunt.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-13447da6c1276c9c3c534f51992e4d26 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-13447da6c1276c9c3c534f51992e4d26\"><\/div>\n<p>For instance, it included many excerpts from Pomerantz\u2019s book showing the criminal charges against Trump were ridiculous. So-called \u201chush money\u201d payments to Stormy Daniels \u201cdid not amount to much in legal terms,\u201d Pomerantz wrote. \u201cPaying hush money is not a crime under New York State law, even if the payment was made to help an electoral candidate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The book excerpts quoted by the court included numerous additional problems Pomerantz saw with the legal theory Bragg eventually relied upon in charging Trump. Trump and his legal team have been highlighting these same many flaws. And now a federal judge just told the country that the \u201cvery experienced, sophisticated, and extremely capable attorney\u201d Pomerantz \u2014 who had wanted to charge Trump \u2014 agreed with all (or most) of Trump\u2019s legal arguments.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The court also noted that Pomerantz was a \u201cpro bono\u201d attorney for the Manhattan D.A.\u2019s office. This should strike the public as strange, especially in light of the well-healed credentials the opinion highlighted: his clerkship at the Supreme Court, his work as a federal prosecutor, and his many years as a criminal defense attorney and partner at the prominent New York City law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &#038; Garrison.<\/p>\n<p>While the court omitted any mention of Paul, Weiss\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/12\/manhattan-d-a-enlisted-a-whos-who-of-biden-admin-buddies-for-trump-takedown\/\">connections<\/a> to the Biden administration and Democrats, referring to Pomerantz\u2019s \u201cpro bono\u201d status should raise some red flags.<\/p>\n<p>If not, Vyskocil was more explicit elsewhere in the opinion, such as when she said she was \u201cunmoved by Bragg\u2019s purported concern at the prospect of \u2018inject[ing] partisan passions into a forum where they do not belong.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy bringing this action, Bragg is engaging in precisely the type of political theater he claims to fear,\u201d the court wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond chastising Bragg for playing politics, Vyskocil rebuked him for his legal arguments, most devastatingly when Bragg argued the court should quash the subpoena of Pomerantz to ensure the grand jury\u2019s secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe secrecy of the grand jury proceedings in the pending criminal case was compromised before the indictment was even announced,\u201d Vyskocil countered, citing CNN\u2019s coverage of the charges against Trump based on leaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The court also unleashed a few zingers on Pomerantz.\u00a0While Pomerantz complains he is in a \u201clegally untenable position\u201d because he will be forced to make a choice between \u201clegal or ethical consequences\u201d or \u201cpotential criminal and disciplinary exposure,\u201d the court \u201cnotes that Pomerantz is in this situation because <em>he<\/em> decided to inject himself into the public debate by authoring a book that he has described as \u2018appropriate and in the public interest.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And in response to Pomerantz making \u201cit abundantly clear that he will seek to comply with Bragg\u2019s instructions\u201d not to respond to the subpoena, the court remarked that Pomerantz \u201cclaimed deference to the District Attorney\u2019s command is a surprising about-face, particularly given that Pomerantz previously <em>declined<\/em> the District Attorney\u2019s request to review his book manuscript before publication.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Next?<\/h2>\n<p>Those already well-versed in the outrageousness of the indictment will take delight in the court\u2019s ripostes. The question remains, however, whether the opinion\u2019s detailed summary of the flaws in Bragg\u2019s legal theory \u2014 as identified by Pomerantz himself \u2014 will convince the remainder of the country that the indictment is a sham. Or will they discard Vyskocil\u2019s decision as a Trump-appointee diatribe?<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it will take the Judiciary Committee questioning Pomerantz on those precise weaknesses for the unconvinced to realize that once again Trump is right \u2014 it is a witch hunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We should know soon whether the questioning will go forward and whether Pomerantz will respond to the questions or follow Bragg\u2019s directive. But if the latter, both Bragg and Pomerantz will find themselves back in front of Vyskocil because the Trump appointee wisely ruled that any future disputes related to the Pomerantz subpoena or other subpoenas related to the Judiciary Committee\u2019s inquiry must be filed in the same case mater.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Vyskocil\u2019s devastating conclusion likely caused Bragg as much heartache as her denial of his motion to declare the subpoena of Pomerantz invalid. For Bragg knows that absent reversal by the Second Circuit, the same outcome awaits further challenges of the House Judiciary Committee\u2019s subpoena power.<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca6b522f58031b094fe850c61dcd141d fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ca6b522f58031b094fe850c61dcd141d\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Margot Cleveland is The Federalist&#8217;s senior legal correspondent. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.     Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize\u2014the law school\u2019s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time.     As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alvin Bragg<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jim-jordan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jim Jordan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judiciary-committee\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Judiciary Committee<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/law\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Law<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/manhattan-da\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Manhattan DA<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge on Wednesday denied Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s request for a court order to prevent the House Judiciary Committee from questioning a former prosecutor involved in the investigation of Donald Trump. Bragg, however, didn\u2019t just lose on the merits. The court\u2019s 25-page order eviscerated the Manhattan D.A. \u2014 and his former prosecutor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":1917120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[8303,22120,22317,5387,6547,7920,10569,4451,7836],"class_list":["post-1917119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-no","tag-alvin","tag-braggs","tag-judge","tag-law","tag-nukes","tag-quash","tag-request","tag-subpoena"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1917119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1917120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1917119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1917119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1917119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}