Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is rejecting House Republicans’ proposed date for testimony on the New York hush money trial against former President Donald Trump even as he expressed a willingness to find another day to appear before Congress.
In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) obtained by the Washington Examiner, Leslie Dubeck, counsel for Bragg, wrote that the office is “committed to voluntary cooperation” but cites scheduling conflicts with the requested June 13 date.
“That cooperation includes making the District Attorney available to provide testimony on behalf of the Office at an agreed-upon date, and evaluating the propriety of allowing an Assistant District Attorney to testify publicly about an active prosecution to which he is assigned,” Dubeck wrote. “However, the proposed date that the Subcommittee selected without consulting the Office presents various scheduling conflicts.”
Last week, Republicans invited both Bragg and prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to appear before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The request came one day after Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels.
Colangelo is a former top-ranking official in the Biden administration’s Department of Justice who left the DOJ to join the team prosecuting Trump. He previously worked for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who also has conducted investigations into the former president and the Trump Organization.
“This hearing will examine actions by state and local prosecutors to engage politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials, in particular the recent political prosecution of President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” Jordan had written in letters to Bragg and Colangelo last week.
Dubeck said that since the committee has not “made clear the scope” of the proposed testimony and trial proceedings for Trump’s case are scheduled to continue through July 11, the proposed date will not work.
“The trial court and reviewing appellate courts have issued numerous orders for the purpose of protecting the fair administration of justice in People v. Trump, and to participate in a public hearing at this time would be potentially detrimental to those efforts,” Dubeck wrote.
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Bragg’s office is requesting the opportunity to discuss a new date with committee staff. How Jordan responds to Bragg’s letter remains to be seen. If he decides to pursue the June 13 date, he could choose to escalate matters and instead subpoena Bragg to appear regardless of Dubeck’s listed scheduling conflicts for the district attorney.
“Everything is on the table as to what is next,” Jordan spokesman Russell Dye told the Washington Examiner.
Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
