By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A former prosecutor who once led the Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump must testify before a congressional committee, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat whose office's investigation led to a grand jury indicting Trump in the first criminal charges against a former president, last week sued Republican Representative Jim Jordan to block a subpoena for testimony from the former prosecutor, Mark Pomerantz.
The subpoena came from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which Jordan chairs. Pomerantz's deposition is scheduled for Thursday.
After hearing arguments in federal court in Manhattan on whether to block the subpoena, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil issued a written ruling approving the subpoena but encouraging the parties to reach a compromise as to how the subpoena of Pomerantz would proceed.
"Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition," Vyskocil wrote, adding in a reference to a phrase frequently used by Trump's critics, "No one is above the law."
Bragg and Pomerantz both appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Vyskocil later denied a request from Bragg to delay Pomerantz's testimony until his appeal is heard, saying she did not think his appeal was likely to succeed.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Jordan said the decision shows "Congress has the ability to conduct oversight."
Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Bragg, argued that Jordan was seeking to interfere in a local prosecution and "intimidate" the district attorney's office.
Matthew Berry, the House general counsel, countered that the subpoena was covered by constitutional protection for "speech or debate" in Congress, and that the committee needed Pomerantz's testimony to weigh legislation restricting what he called "politically motivated prosecutions" of presidents.
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 the liaison took place.
Vyskocil, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, said she did not endorse either side's "agenda." She said she presumed Bragg was acting in good faith, but some of his constituents wish to see Trump prosecuted. She said Jordan had also "initiated a political response" to Bragg's charges.
"The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose," she wrote. "He does not."