Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will seek to bring contempt of Congress charges against Mark Pomerantz, a Manhattan lawyer who previously pushed for former President Donald Trump’s indictment on questionable charges.
Pomerantz, who authored a book titled “People vs. Donald Trump,” was a Manhattan prosecutor under District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg. Pomerantz earlier led an investigation into Trump’s finances but resigned in February 2022 because of Bragg’s initial unwillingness to pursue a criminal case.
In May, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee—investigating Manhattan’s decision to indict Trump on 34 felony counts—questioned Pomerantz for six hours. But the lawyer, claiming Fifth Amendment protections, refused to answer substantive questions, prompting frustration from Republicans.
Pomerantz suggested that a GOP investigation into an unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States was little more than “an act of political theater.”
Now, Gaetz has announced that he will pursue contempt of Congress charges due to Pomerantz’s lack of definitive answers.
“Today I’m filing a resolution to hold Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz in contempt of Congress,” Gaetz announced on June 6. “I believe Mr. Pomerantz engaged in misconduct in his targeting of President Trump, and his refusal to answer simple questions should not go unpunished.”
Pomerantz claimed Fifth Amendment protections, purportedly to protect confidential information.
But Gaetz said that he waived that right when he published “People vs. Donald Trump,” an anti-Trump memoir about Pomerantz’s time in the Manhattan DA’s office.
“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.
“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’ questions under a frivolous assertion.”
Pomerantz ultimately complied with that subpoena, giving testimony to the panel in May. But he refused to answer simple questions such as “Do you respect Alvin Bragg?” on Fifth Amendment grounds, according to Gaetz’s complaint.
Gaetz argued that this refusal to answer questions he addressed in his book and on television appearances constitutes a lack of compliance with a congressional subpoena.
“If [Pomerantz] fails to comply with the congressional subpoena, then the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives must summon him by force,” Gaetz said.
Asked whether he thought House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would support the move, Gaetz was ambiguous.
“I think right now his principal goal is to remain speaker,” Gaetz said, a reference to conditions placed on McCarthy’s ascent to the speakership. A single Republican can bring a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair to the floor, and many Republicans are already frustrated with McCarthy for the debt ceiling deal he made with President Joe Biden to avoid a default.
Nevertheless, Gaetz said, “Speaker McCarthy has been really strong on oversight matters to date, and I hope and expect it to continue.”
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