House Judiciary releases new report accusing DA Bragg of political prosecution

The House Judiciary Committee released a new report on Thursday which accuses Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing a political prosecution against former President Donald Trump. 

"[Since] at least 2018, the DANY has weaponized the criminal justice system, scouring every aspect of President Trump’s personal life and business affairs, going back decades, in the hopes of finding some legal basis—however far-fetched, novel, or convoluted—to bring charges against him," the report concluded. 

"When one legal theory would not pan out, instead of discontinuing its politically motivated investigation, the DANY simply pivoted to a new theory, constantly searching for a crime—any crime—to prosecute President Trump." 

The committee used evidence from former Special Assistant District Attorney Mark F. Pomerantz’s book, in which he described his work at the Manhattan District Attorney's office. According to the committee, Pomerantz published a book shortly after resigning from the office after DA Bragg assumed the role in order to pressure him to charge the former president. 

You can read the report below: 

Last year, Bragg ultimately decided to charge Trump with 34 felony counts using what the committee describes as "a novel and untested legal theory that bootstrapped misdemeanor allegations as a felony." The previous district attorney, Cyrus Vance, had not filed charges against Trump despite years of investigation led by Pomerantz. 

"The timing and basis for the DANY's prosecution of President Trump provide a clear inference that Bragg is motivated by political calculations," the report concludes. 

"In addition to the novel and untested legal theory, Bragg's case relies heavily on the testimony of his star witness, Michael Cohen—a convicted perjurer with a demonstrable prejudice against President Trump," the committee said in a statement. "Cohen has been convicted of lying to Congress and DANY prosecutors were rightly concerned about his serious credibility problems."

Just the News reported in March that Cohen will face a credibility crisis on the stand as a witness in the so-called 'hush money' trial. Memos reviewed by Just the News show Cohen in 2018 repeatedly insisted to his attorney that he had no incriminating evidence on Trump related to the hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.