Jim Jordan broke New York law by threatening Manhattan DA: legal expert
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) violated state law in New York with his threats to conduct a Congressional investigation of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over the indictment of Donald Trump, legal analyst Glenn Kirschner said Saturday on his "Justice Matters" podcast.
The comments by Kirschner were reported by Newsweek. Here’s part of its account:
"Under our law, a person is guilty of Obstructing Governmental Administration in the Second Degree when that person intentionally...prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from performing an official function by means of intimidation, physical force or interference," Kirschner told his audience. "That is precisely what Jim Jordan has done and is doing."
Jordan issued a Thursday to former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who worked on the Trump case before resigning last February, Newsweek reported. That prompted the following angry response from Bragg:
"The House GOP continues to attempt to undermine an active investigation and ongoing New York criminal case with an unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation," a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday. "Repeated efforts to weaken state and local law enforcement actions are an abuse of power and will not deter us from our duty to uphold the law."
On his podcast, Kirschner said Bragg had put Jordan on notice for his potential violations of state law. He added that it remained to be seen whether the Manhattan DA would further pursue the matter, Newsweek reported.
"Kirschner also noted that Jordan's efforts were in violation of the 10th Amendment, as the federal government cannot interfere with a state-level prosecution," the report said.
As reported at Raw Story this week, Jordan has invited the Senior Counsel of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to testify "despite having no legitimate or constitutional authority to perform oversight of a county elected official's actions."
