Donald Trump arrest: Jim Jordan issues first subpoena in indictment investigation
Cami Mondeaux
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Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee issued their first subpoena in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s indictment, calling on former New York County District Attorney Mark Pomerantz to appear before the panel for a deposition.
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) subpoenaed Pomerantz on Thursday, requesting his testimony regarding the former attorney’s involvement in the investigation into Trump’s finances and his alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Pomerantz led that inquiry before resigning last year over District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s initial reluctance to move forward with the case.
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Jordan accused Pomerantz of resigning as an act of protest to pressure Bragg to reopen the case, which the chairman argued was politically motivated.
“In your resignation letter, you prejudged the results of the District Attorney’s investigation, writing that ‘Donald Trump is guilty of numerous felony violations,’ and vowing not to be a ‘passive participant’ to ‘a grave failure of justice,’” Jordan wrote. “Your public resignation reportedly left District Attorney Bragg ‘deeply stung,’ and caused him to issue an ‘unusual’ public statement ‘emphasizing that the investigation into Trump and his business was far from over.’”
Jordan also referenced a newly published book written by Pomerantz that details his decision to resign and why he believes Trump should be convicted. The Ohio Republican pressed Pomerantz to comply with his request to testify, noting he has “no basis to decline” because he has already been public about several details of the case.
The subpoena comes two weeks after Jordan initially requested that Pomerantz and former Manhattan Special Assistant District Attorney Carey Dunne testify before the Judiciary Committee, which the former attorney declined. In addition to his testimony, Jordan is also seeking access to any documents related to Pomerantz’s work while in office.
The subpoena is the first action taken by the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into Trump’s indictment as the former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. The charges were unsealed during a court appearance on Tuesday and mark the first time a former president faces criminal charges.
In the court documents, Bragg accused Trump of orchestrating a “catch and kill” scheme during the 2016 presidential cycle to identify negative stories about him and pay large sums of money to bury them from public view. After making such payments, Trump is accused of hiding such conduct by making “dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
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In one instance, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen wired $130,000 to an attorney to be transferred to Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual affair. Cohen later pleaded guilty to the illegal campaign contribution charge in 2018.
At the time of Cohen’s trial, federal prosecutors did not press charges against Trump due to guidance from the Justice Department that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime. However, prosecutors revived discussions about charges shortly before Trump left office in 2021. The federal government did not ultimately charge Trump.