The US House Judiciary Committee, Oversight Committee, and Administration Committee all sent a letter to Alvin Bragg, the current New York County District Attorney overseeing the New York "Hush Money" case against Trump, asking "to advance our oversight, please produce the following documents and information"...
- All documents and communications between or among the New York County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice, its component entities, or other federal law enforcement agencies referring or relating to your office’s investigation of President Donald Trump;
- All documents and communications sent or received by former employees Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz referring or relating to President Donald Trump; and
- All documents and communications referring or relating to the New York County District Attorney Office’s receipt and use of federal funds.
The letter claims...
Your decision to pursue such a politically motivated prosecution—while adopting progressive criminal justice policies that allow career “criminals [to] run[ ] the streets” of Manhattan —requires congressional scrutiny about how public safety funds appropriated by Congress are implemented by local law-enforcement agencies. In addition, your apparent decision to pursue criminal charges where federal authorities declined to do so requires oversight to inform potential legislative reforms about the delineation of prosecutorial authority between federal and local officials. Finally, because the circumstances of this matter stem, in part, from Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, Congress may consider legislative reforms to the authorities of special counsels and their relationships with other prosecuting entities.
Pursuant to Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over criminal justice matters in the United States. The Committee on House Administration has jurisdiction over matters concerning federal elections. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability may examine “any matter” at any time.
It seems highly problematic for the US House to be intervening in a New York state criminal investigation, especially when no indictment has yet been made. Given that the letter cites such prestigious legal journals as the NY Post, Fox News, and The Daily Mail, I'm skeptical of their legal standing.
What happens if Mr. Bragg refuses? Can they compel him to produce these documents? If so, under what authority?