Rep. Matt Gaetz is not at all happy about the fact that ally and fellow Floridian former President Donald Trump is being unfairly politically targeted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and he has a plan to strike back.
“Gaetz announced Tuesday that he will bring contempt of Congress charges against a former New York prosecutor he said has stymied an investigation into the targeting of former President Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney’s office,” Trending Politics reported.
Gaetz told Fox News he was incredulous at attorney Mark Pomerantz’s testimony, wherein Pomerantz repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment when questioned under oath about his alleged role in urging Bragg to pursue criminal charges against Trump.
“He lobbied his way onto a prosecutorial team as a private lawyer. He did all he could to gaslight charges against Donald Trump. When the evidence didn’t support those charges, he initially got miffed and quit the team and wrote a book about it,” Gaetz told Fox News Digital.
“Now, he has the nerve to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege over these matters when he has clearly explicitly and repeatedly waived that privilege. Contempt is proper where someone refuses to answer Congress’s questions under a frivolous assertion,” Gaetz continued.
BREAKING: Today I’m filing a resolution to hold Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz in contempt of Congress.
I believe Mr. Pomerantz engaged in misconduct in his targeting of President Trump, and his refusal to answer simple questions should not go unpunished.
If he fails to… pic.twitter.com/KiauexRHJ4
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) June 6, 2023
Pomerantz left Bragg’s office last year following the Democratic prosecutor’s initial decision not to pursue charges against Trump concerning business transactions and a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
When asked about his departure from the DA’s office in protest during that time, Pomerantz referred to the House’s investigation as “an act of political theater.”
Following the announcement of 34 criminal charges against Trump, DA Bragg has been accused of obstructing the Republican-led investigation by imposing restrictions on the president’s access to evidence. Additionally, Bragg has sought a restraining order against House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and claimed “interference” in response to Republican attempts to interview Pomerantz.
Despite facing criticisms, the Manhattan prosecutor stands by allegations that Trump utilized the hush money payment to evade tax obligations, stating, “We cannot normalize criminal conduct,” even though there have been instances of reducing felony charges against other defendants in the past.