Judge Decries 'Political Rhetoric' In Standoff Over Subpoena In Trump Probe

A U.S. judge on Wednesday said she would ignore "political rhetoric" from "both sides" in a standoff between the Manhattan prosecutor who got Donald Trump indicted and one of the former president's staunchest Republican allies in Congress.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, last week sued Republican Representative Jim Jordan to block a subpoena for testimony from Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once led the office's multiyear investigation of Trump.

The subpoena came from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which Jordan chairs. Pomerantz's deposition is now scheduled for Thursday.

After hearing arguments in federal court in Manhattan on whether to block the subpoena, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said she would publish a decision "as promptly as I can." She said she would focus on the subpoena's validity, and not other political issues she said the parties had raised.

"There's politics going on on both sides here, let's be honest about that," said Vyskocil, who was nominated to the bench by Trump. "I'm talking about the subpoena. That's what's in front of me. Not all the political rhetoric that's been flying back and forth."

Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Bragg, argued that Congress was seeking to interfere in a local prosecution and "intimidate" the district attorney's office because of its indictment of Trump.

Matthew Berry, the House of Representatives' general counsel representing Jordan, countered that the subpoena was covered by constitutional protection for "speech or debate" in Congress, and that the committee needed Pomerantz's testimony to weigh legislation restricting what he called "politically motivated prosecutions" of presidents.

Vyskocil said Pomerantz was in a "tricky situation" because his ethical obligation to protect confidential information from his time at the district attorney's office may preclude him from answering the committee's questions. But evading questions could open him up to contempt charges, she said.

Vyskocil noted that Pomerantz had published a book about the investigation, and questioned whether that changed his ethical obligations.

Pomerantz has urged Vyskocil to block the subpoena and said he played no role in Bragg's decision to charge Trump.

Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, pleaded not guilty on April 4 to 34 felony charges over a hush money payment made before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said they had. He denies the liaison took place.