Alvin Bragg has dropped the appeal that he filed in his legal battle with House Republicans, Fox News reports.
Bragg is the Manhattan District Attorney who recently gained notoriety for impeaching former President Donald Trump on grounds that many legal experts find highly dubious.
The appeal, referred to above, that Bragg filed had to do with Mark Pomerantz, one of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's former prosecutors.
Pomerantz, when he was still with the District Attorney's Office, led the investigation that the office conducted into Trump's finances.
Pomerantz's resignation came after Bragg became the district attorney. Pomerantz, in his resignation letter, took issue with Bragg's decision at the time to "indefinitely" halt the investigation that was being led into Trump.
Pomerantz went on to write a book about this investigation, and, in that book, Pomerantz did a couple of things: he detailed the efforts that the District Attorney's Office made to find Trump guilty of a crime and he openly questioned the credibility of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who appears to be a key witness in Bragg's current case against Trump.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have been attempting to subpoena Pomerantz in relation to their investigation of the charges that Bragg has brought against Trump.
In mid-March, the House Judiciary Committee attempted to get Pomerantz to provide voluntary testimony. Pomerantz, however, refused, saying, "at the instruction of the New York County District Attorney’s Office," he would not do so.
In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights. Bragg complains of political interference in the local DANY case, but Bragg does not operate outside of the political arena. Bragg is presumptively acting in good faith.
Bragg responded to Vyskocil's decision with an appeal. But, now, Bragg has withdrawn the appeal.
It appears that Bragg has withdrawn the appeal because he and House Republicans have reached an agreement regarding the testimony of Pomerantz.
In a new statement, Bragg said:
Our successful stay of this subpoena blocked the immediate deposition and afforded us the time necessary to coordinate with the House Judiciary Committee on an agreement that protects the District Attorney’s privileges and interests. We are pleased with this resolution, which ensures any questioning of our former employee will take place in the presence of our General Counsel on a reasonable, agreed upon timeframe. We are gratified that the Second Circuit’s ruling provided us with the opportunity to successfully resolve this dispute.
House Republicans, in a statement of their own, say that Pomerantz's deposition is now scheduled to take place on May 12.
