Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is scheduled to testify before Congress on July 12, a day after former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money trial, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Quick Read
- Scheduled Testimony: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Trump prosecutor Michael Colangelo are set to testify before Congress on July 12.
- Context: The testimony is scheduled one day after former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money trial.
- Hearing Details: They will appear before the House Select Committee on weaponization, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who has accused them of conducting a “political prosecution” against Trump.
- Trump’s Conviction: Trump was convicted last month of falsifying records to cover up hush money paid during the 2016 presidential campaign and will be sentenced on July 11.
- Committee Inquiry: Bragg sued Jordan last year to stop a House Judiciary Committee inquiry into Trump’s indictment but later allowed the committee to question former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.
- Field Hearing: After Trump’s arraignment, Jordan held a field hearing near Bragg’s offices criticizing Bragg’s policies, which Democrats called a partisan stunt.
- Background on Bragg: Alvin Bragg, in his first term as Manhattan’s district attorney, inherited the Trump investigation in 2021 and previously worked with Colangelo at the New York attorney general’s office.
The Associated Press has the story:
Manhattan DA & Trump prosecutor set to appear before Congress on July 12
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is scheduled to testify before Congress on July 12, a day after former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money trial, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Bragg is set to appear before the House Select Committee on weaponization alongside Michael Colangelo, the former high-ranking Justice Department official hired by Bragg in 2022 to lead the Trump investigation. The date was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the negotiations who was granted anonymity to disclose a date not yet made public.
Bragg and Colangelo will face what’s likely to be a hostile, Republican-controlled hearing where the chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has accused both men of having conducted a “political prosecution” in the case against the former president.
Trump was convicted last month of falsifying records to cover up hush money paid to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Before then, prosecutors will be making recommendations to a judge about what kind of punishment Trump deserves.
Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jordan last year, seeking to halt a House Judiciary Committee inquiry into Trump’s indictment. He later agreed to let the Republican-led committee question ex-prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who once oversaw the investigation but left the job after clashing with Bragg over the direction of the case.
Soon after Trump’s April 2023 arraignment, Jordan took the Judiciary Committee on the road for a field hearing near Bragg’s offices to examine what he decried as the Democrat’s “pro-crime, anti-victim” policies. Democrats said the hearing was a partisan stunt aimed at amplifying conservative anger at Bragg.
Bragg, a former civil rights lawyer and law professor, is in his first term as Manhattan’s district attorney. He inherited the Trump investigation when he took office in 2021. He oversaw the prosecution of Trump’s company in an unrelated tax fraud case before moving to indict Trump last year.
He and Colangelo previously worked together on Trump-related matters at the New York attorney general’s office. During the trial, Colangelo delivered the opening statement and questioned several witnesses including former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.
