Bragg willing to testify about Trump prosecution — but not when the House GOP wants

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg signaled Friday that he is willing to testify about his prosecution of former President Donald Trump — but not next week as House Republicans proposed.

Leslie Dubeck, Bragg’s general counsel, sent a letter on Friday to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, saying that the DA’s office is “committed to voluntary cooperation” after the Ohio Republican requested Bragg testify on June 13. Jordan wants Bragg to appear in front of his subcommittee investigating GOP claims of “weaponization” against conservatives within the government.

“That cooperation includes making the District Attorney available to provide testimony on behalf of the Office at an agreed-upon date,” Dubeck wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.

But Dubeck rebuffed Jordan’s request for Bragg to testify on June 13, saying that there are “various scheduling conflicts” and that the trial court proceedings are currently scheduled to continue through July 11, when Trump is scheduled to be sentenced. Testifying publicly next week, she added, “would be potentially detrimental” to a “fair administration of justice” in the case. Trump has also vowed to appeal his conviction on 34 felonies in the hush money case.

Jordan had said before Friday’s letter that he was willing to subpoena Bragg if he refused to testify. He also, in a brief interview earlier this week, questioned why Bragg would need to wait until after Trump’s sentencing to testify.

The testimony request for Bragg and Matthew Colangelo, who helped prosecute Trump, is the latest step in a months-long House GOP investigation into Bragg’s office. It’s also one prong of a larger effort by Republicans to use their thin majority to look into Trump’s prosecutors.

Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, said on Friday that when it comes to what’s next “everything is on the table.”

Bragg’s office is requesting that House Judiciary staff work with them to figure out a new hearing date and provide more clarity on “the scope and purpose of the proposed hearing.” Jordan, in his letters inviting Bragg and Colangelo to testify, wrote that the hearing would “examine actions by state and local prosecutors to engage in politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials,” including Trump’s prosecution in New York.