House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said a New York district attorney leading the investigation to potentially arrest former President Donald Trump is facing a deadline to answer questions before three congressional panels.
“We gave him until Thursday to come forward,” Steil told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview about the push to demand answers from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “We look forward to his response.”
Bragg is reportedly planning to arrest Trump over an alleged “hush money” payment during the 2016 election. The former president is accused of furnishing money to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels to hide allegations of an affair between the two, which Trump denies.
Steil is one of three Republican committee chairs in the House of Representatives demanding information in a joint letter (pdf) about Bragg’s rationale in the looming indictment. He was joined in formulating the letter by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).
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— House Admin. Committee GOP (@HouseAdmin) March 20, 2023
House Admin Chairman @RepBryanSteil, Judiciary Chairman @Jim_Jordan , and House Oversight Chairman @RepJamesComer sent a letter to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg demanding communications, documents & testimony relating to Bragg's unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority. pic.twitter.com/jW3RklvHWu
“I think the question that needs to be answered is: Is this a political move? When you look at the fact that previous prosecutors have reviewed this and ultimately made a decision not to prosecute, and he made a previous decision he wasn’t going to move forward and now he is moving forward, what changed? The only thing that changed is President Trump has announced he is running for reelection,” Steil said.
“I think that broadly for the American people we are concerned about the politicization of our judicial system, and as you look at this case there are clear questions that I think need to be answered about whether there is a misuse of federal funds that are intended to actually do things like reduce crime that are actually being repurposed for political purposes.”
Bragg has not yet agreed to appear before the congressional panel for a transcribed interview, and Steil said that if the district attorney refuses to cooperate with the investigation, he will consult with other members of the committee on whether to subpoena Bragg to compel his appearance.
