Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and a top prosecutor are slated to appear before the Republican-led House committee in July, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Epoch Times on Tuesday.
Mr. Bragg will appear before the House Select Committee on Weaponization alongside Michael Colangelo, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) official who led the investigation into former President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the negotiations said, confirming reports that they will appear before the panel on July 12.
Later Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed the development in a statement.
“The Manhattan DA’s Office is proud to play a crucial role in upholding and enforcing the rule of law for the people of New York,” the statement said. “It undermines the rule of law to spread dangerous misinformation, baseless claims, and conspiracy theories following the jury’s return of a full-count felony conviction in People v. Trump.” “Nonetheless, we respect our government institutions and plan to appear voluntarily before the subcommittee after sentencing,” it added
In late May, former President Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments made to an adult film performer during the 2016 presidential campaign, allegations that he denied. He is slated to be sentenced on July 11.
Late last week, Mr. Bragg’s office sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee confirming that the Manhattan district attorney would cooperate with their investigation but noted that former President Trump has yet to be sentenced. The letter also sought to understand the scope of the testimony that he would be providing.
Mr. Bragg, a former civil rights lawyer and law professor, is in his first term as Manhattan’s district attorney and took on the Trump case when he was elected to office in 2021. Previously, he worked on Trump-related matters alongside Mr. Colangelo when they were under the New York attorney general’s office.
In the trial, Mr. Colangelo gave the opening statement and questioned multiple witnesses in connection to the Trump case.
Several Republicans, including House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have claimed that Mr. Colangelo’s hiring in late 2022—several months before the former president was indicated by Mr. Bragg’s office—suggests that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is colluding with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in the case. The DOJ has denied those allegations, including in a letter that was issued Tuesday to Mr. Jordan.
Mr. Bragg’s general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, said in a letter that there were “scheduling conflicts” but indicated Mr. Bragg would testify if certain conditions were met.
“This Office is committed to voluntary cooperation,” Ms. Dubeck wrote in a letter dated June 7. “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.”
The Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee’s previous letter also didn’t make clear the “scope of the proposed testimony” from Mr. Bragg, an elected Democrat, Ms. Dubeck said.
“As with the prior inquiries from this Committee, we look forward to discussing with committee staff how the Office may be able to accommodate the Committee’s invitation, while also protecting the integrity of an ongoing criminal prosecution and New York’s sovereign interests,” the letter continued.
Mr. Jordan has long been critical of Mr. Bragg’s prosecution of the former president, again claiming in early June during a Fox News interview that he believes the Manhattan district attorney campaigned on a promise to prosecute the former president.
“We found none. This is unsurprising. The District Attorney’s office is a separate entity from the Department. The Department does not supervise the work of the District Attorney’s office, does not approve its charging decisions, and does not try its cases,” the DOJ said in a letter to House Republicans. “The Department has no control over the District Attorney, just as the District Attorney has no control over the Department. The Committee knows this.”
Aside from Manhattan, former President Trump has been charged in Washington, Florida, and Fulton County, Georgia, in relation to a range of alleged crimes. The former president has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The Epoch Times contacted the Manhattan district attorney’s office for comment Tuesday.
