Federal Court Denies Manhattan DA Bragg’s Request for Temporary Restraining Order in Lawsuit Against Jim Jordan

Alvin Bragg, incoming Manhattan District Attorney, speaks with supporters on election nigh
AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton

A federal court on Tuesday denied Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) from questioning a former prosecutor about Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump.

Bragg filed a lawsuit against Jordan on Tuesday in an attempt to stop him from following through on a subpoena he issued to Mark Pomerantz, a former special assistant in the Manhattan district attorney’s office who left when Bragg took over out of frustration that Bragg paused the Manhattan office’s investigation into Trump.

As Breitbart News reported:

Bragg, according to a memorandum with the filing, is not only looking to stop Jordan “from enforcing this unlawful and unconstitutional subpoena” by obtaining a temporary restraining order, but also “to prohibit Mr. Pomerantz from complying with it.”

The memorandum described the move to subpoena Pomerantz, which was first reported by Breitbart News last week, as an “abuse” of congressional authority.

“Their latest salvo—the subpoena to Mr. Pomerantz—is an abuse of congressional process and a brazen incursion into New York’s exercise of its sovereign prosecutorial powers,” it stated.

However, hours after Bragg filed his lawsuit, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil denied Bragg’s request for a temporary restraining order, which would have immediately blocked Jordan from following through on his subpoena of Pomerantz.

“The Court declines to enter the proposed Temporary Restraining Order and Order to Show Cause,” the court ordered. “It is HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’ shall effect service on the Defendants of the Complaint together with a copy of this Order, the Plaintiff’s motion, and any supporting papers, on or before 9:00 PM tonight.”

Judge Vyskocil noted that Bragg’s complaint referenced a declaration from Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr, but “the Court has not been provided with this document yet, nor is it on the docket.” The court also said Bragg failed to provide a copy of the subpoena served on Pomerantz.

Mike Davis, founder and president of the pro-Trump Article III Project and former Chief Counsel for Nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told Breitbart News that Bragg’s lawsuit against Jordan is “laughably frivolous.”
“Soros-funded Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s lawsuit against House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is laughably frivolous, as evidenced by the fact Bragg couldn’t even win a temporary restraining order,” Davis said. “Harvard Law should demand that Bragg return his law degree.”

The court gave Jordan a deadline of April 17 at 9:00 a.m. to file any response before the final hearing occurs on April 19.

The case is Bragg v. Jordan, No. 23-cv-3032 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.

Breitbart News’ Wendell Husebø contributed to this report.

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