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Manhattan DA and House Republicans settle dispute over Trump investigation

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg agreed Friday to allow a former prosecutor from his office to testify in the House GOP investigation of the DA’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Bragg and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, filed a joint motion Friday that paves the way for Mark Pomerantz to sit for a deposition next month.

A spokesman for the House panel said in a statement The deposition was scheduled for May 12 after Bragg’s office withdrew its appeal.

Bragg last week sought to block elements of the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation. In his lawsuit, Bragg alleged that the GOP-led panel and Jordan attempted to interfere with Trump’s prosecution, calling it an “unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional assault” on an investigation.

After a district court ruled Wednesday that Pomerantz must testify before the Judiciary Committee pursuant to a subpoena from the panel, Bragg appealed, temporarily blocking the lower court’s decision.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Friday that its effort to temporarily block the subpoena “gave us the time we needed to coordinate with the House Judiciary Committee on an agreement that protects the district attorney’s privileges and interests.” “

“We are pleased with this proposal, which ensures that any questioning of our former employee will take place in the presence of our General Counsel over a reasonable, agreed time frame,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesman for Jordan told NBC News: “He would have gotten a lawyer anyway. Total spin field.”

Bragg’s office is prosecuting Trump over his role in secret money payments made at the end of his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty this month to 34 felony counts of falsifying trade records.

Jordan said this month that Pomerantz’s previous role in the DA’s office leading the probe into Trump’s finances leaves him “uniquely positioned to provide relevant and necessary information” to the committee’s investigation of Bragg’s impeachment of Trump. “makes Jordan also argued that Pomerantz had previously shared information on the matter in a book and in media interviews.

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