Jordan subpoenas former senior prosecutor in Manhattan DA's office in connection to probe of Trump
Source: CNN Politics
CNN — House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan subpoenaed former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz for his role investigating Donald Trump and his business empire – as House Republicans attempt to frame the recent indictment against the former President as politically motivated.
The move comes as Jordan has left the door open on whether to take the unprecedented step to subpoena Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as part of the larger House Republican effort to discredit the case he has brought against Trump. Pomerantz resigned from the Manhattan DA’s office in 2022 and said in his resignation letter that former President was “guilty of numerous felony violations” in connection to his annual financial statements. He resigned one day after Bragg informed him that he wasn’t prepared to move forward with criminal charges at that point.
The committee wrote in a statement announcing the subpoena that, “Pomerantz’s public statements about the investigation strongly suggest that Bragg’s prosecution of President Trump is politically motivated.” Jordan first requested Pomerantz to cooperate voluntarily on March 22, but said Pomerantz advised that the New York County District Attorney’s Office had directed him not to cooperate.
The deposition date has been set for April 20, according to a copy of the subpoena reviewed by CNN. CNN has reached out to Pomerantz for comment. Jordan telegraphed his decision to subpoena Pomerantz in an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday by saying, “we think we’d like to talk to him and start to get some answers. That may be an easier route to pursue initially than Mr. Bragg.” Bragg’s office has responded to Jordan’s requests and has said they are willing to meet.
New York Times: “While nothing is certain, there are numerous signs that she may go big, with a more kaleidoscopic indictment charging not only Mr. Trump, but perhaps a dozen or more of his allies.”
“Her investigation has targeted a wide range of conduct centered around efforts to subvert the democratic process and overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss. Nearly 20 people are already known to have been told that they are targets who could face charges, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, and David Shafer, the head of the Georgia Republican Party.”
“For Mr. Trump, the possibility of a second and potentially more complex criminal indictment in another state underscores the blizzard of legal challenges he is facing, even as he emerges as the clear front-runner among Republican presidential candidates.”
BRAGG is suing Jim JORDAN and House Republicans for attacks on Trump prosecution
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Kyle Cheney
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NEWS: BRAGG is suing Jim JORDAN and House Republicans for what he says is an "unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack" on his Trump probe.
The lawsuit:
courtlistener.com
Complaint – #1 in Bragg v. Jordan (S.D.N.Y., 1:23-cv-03032) – CourtListener.com
COMPLAINT against Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives, Jim Jordan, Mark F. Pomerantz. (Filing Fee $ 402.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-27591650)Document filed by Alvin...
11:40 AM · Apr 11, 2023
- A brand new ABC news poll shows that Trump's favorability rating has fallen to just 25%.
- Former advisor Stephen Miller has just testified before Special Counsel Jack Smith's January 6th Grand Jury.
- New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron has ordered his accounting firm, Whitley Penn to hand over tax documents to NYAG Letitia James in her fraud investigation.
No delay for Trump in rape accuser's trial, more discovery allowed
Source: Reuters
A U.S. judge on Thursday said Donald Trump's defamation trial over whether he raped a writer in the mid-1990s will begin as scheduled on April 25, rejecting the former president's bid for a delay but letting him learn more about how his accuser is paying her legal bills.
They said the involvement of Hoffman, a prominent Democratic donor, raised the question of whether Carroll sued Trump, a Republican, to advance a political agenda.
In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said Hoffman's role had nothing directly to do with whether Trump defamed Carroll by calling her rape claim a hoax in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform.
But the judge said Hoffman's involvement "might prove relevant" to Carroll's credibility, after she testified under oath last October that no one else was paying her legal fees.
Trump answers questions for 7 hours in New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit [View all]
Source: Market Watch
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump answered questions for nearly seven hours Thursday during his second deposition in a legal battle with New York’s attorney general over his company’s business practices, reversing an earlier decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and remain silent.
The Republican met all day with lawyers for Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump last year. Her lawsuit claims Trump and his family misled banks and business associates by giving them false information about his net worth and the value of assets such as hotels and golf courses.
Shortly after Trump entered the Manhattan skyscraper that houses James’ offices, his attorney, Alina Habba, said he was “not only willing but also eager to testify.”
“He remains resolute in his stance that he has nothing to conceal, and he looks forward to educating the Attorney General about the immense success of his multi-billion dollar company,” Habba said in a statement.
A top Trump lawyer has recused himself from Mar-a-Lago documents case
Source: Washington Post
One of former president Donald Trump’s top lawyers on the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case is no longer working on the matter after he appeared before a federal grand jury last month, according to people familiar with the move.
Corcoran is still representing Trump in other cases, such as special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information they are not allowed to disclose.
Prosecutors investigating Trump taking classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago Club after leaving office won a court fight that allowed them to question Corcoran when judges ruled that he could not use attorney-client privilege to avoid disclosing information about his communications with Trump. Prosecutors cited an exception to the legal principle that lawyers must keep confidential what they are told by their clients when there is evidence that a client used the attorney’s legal services in furtherance of a crime.
The move comes as the Justice Department is increasingly focused on possible obstruction by Trump in the investigation into the documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home, and whether Trump took or directed others to impede government efforts to collect all the sensitive records
California Bar Slaps Trump Lawyer John Eastman with 11 Disciplinary Charges for 'False' Election Fra
Source: Law & Crime
The California bar slapped former President Donald Trump’s attorney John Eastman with nearly a dozen disciplinary charges for “false and misleading statements” alleging fraud in the 2020 election.
The State Bar of California’s Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona intends to seek Eastman’s disbarment for alleged violations of Business and Professions Code section 6106, which punishes making false and misleading statements that constitute acts of “moral turpitude, dishonesty, and corruption.”
“There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power,” Cardona said in a statement. “For California attorneys, adherence to the U.S. and California Constitutions is their highest legal duty. The Notice of Disciplinary Charges alleges that Mr. Eastman violated this duty in furtherance of an attempt to usurp the will of the American people and overturn election results for the highest office in the land — an egregious and unprecedented attack on our democracy — for which he must be held accountable.”
Eastman is the author of the so-called “coup memo,” a six-point plan to overturn the election results.
“The 11 charges arise from allegations that Eastman engaged in a course of conduct to plan, promote, and assist then-President Trump in executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states,” the bar wrote in a press release.
