Ex-prosecutor in New York Trump probe wins congressional deposition delay

5:20 pm Thursday, April 20th, 2023

By Luc Cohen

(Reuters) -Mark Pomerantz, the former prosecutor who once led the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal inquiry into former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Thursday won a delay to his deposition before a Republican-led congressional committee, court records showed.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil on Wednesday denied Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s request to block a subpoena to Pomerantz from Jim Jordan, who chairs the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Bragg and Pomerantz appealed that ruling. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday granted a temporary delay to Pomerantz’s deposition to allow a three-judge panel to consider the case. Pomerantz’s closed-door deposition had been scheduled for 10 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) before the Judiciary Committee.

The appeals court said its order “reflects no judgment regarding the merits of the parties’ respective positions.” It gave Jordan a Friday afternoon deadline to respond, with replies by Bragg and Pomerantz due Saturday afternoon.

Bragg, a Democrat who got Trump indicted by a grand jury – the first criminal charges against a former president – argues that Jordan’s subpoena of Pomerantz was part of an effort to interfere in a local prosecution and “intimidate” the district attorney’s office in retaliation for its charges against 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 that the liaison took place.

Jordan has countered that the committee needs Pomerantz’s testimony to weigh legislation restricting what he called “politically motivated prosecutions” of presidents.

Spokespeople for the Judiciary Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Diane Craft, Mark Heinrich, Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Porter)