Former president Donald Trump faces criminal trial in a Manhattan courtroom (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
"The DANY has been investigating President Trump since at least 2018, searching for any legal theory on which to bring charges," the report states. "These charges are normally misdemeanors subject to a two-year statute of limitations, but Bragg used a novel and untested legal theory—previously declined by federal prosecutors—to bootstrap the misdemeanor allegations as a felony, which extended the statute of limitations to five years, by alleging that records were falsified to conceal a second crime."
Prosecutors revealed during the criminal trial this week that the alleged "second crime" was a violation of a New York law called "conspiracy to promote or prevent election." Prosecutors will try to prove that the alleged conspiracy was to conceal a conspiracy to unlawfully promote his candidacy.
"The facts at the center of Bragg’s political prosecution have not changed since 2018 and no new witnesses emerged between then and the date on which Bragg filed the indictment," the report states. "The Justice Department examined the facts in 2019 and chose not to prosecute the case."
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan holds a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Bragg's decision to bring charges against Trump after he became a candidate for president "required the Committee to consider potential legislative reforms to insulate current and former Presidents from such politically motivated state and local prosecutions," the report states.
Former Manhattan DA prosecutor Mark Pomerantz testified before the committee in a deposition as part of the investigation. Pomerantz declined to answer most questions, but told the committee that was largely due to the then-pending investigation into Trump.
Pomerantz, a donor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, previously worked on the Trump investigation with ex-prosecutor Carey Dunne under Bragg's predecessor, former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance. Both Pomerantz and Dunne resigned after Bragg took the helm and raised doubts about pursuing a case against Trump.
After Pomerantz resigned, he wrote a tell-all book based on the investigation, which was still ongoing. The book seemingly made the case to charge Trump.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and District Attorney Alvin Bragg ((AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews))
The memo stated that armed robberies should not be prosecuted as felonies. Instead, the new DA directed armed robberies to be considered as misdemeanor larceny unless someone was shot during the robbery. Bragg also stated that his office would not seek prison sentences except for homicides and other particularly "heinous crimes" like domestic violence felonies, sex crimes, and public corruption.
The committee said that Bragg's indictment of Trump "opened a dangerous new possibility of politically motivated prosecutions or threatened prosecutions of political opponents, including presidents."
"This case establishes a dangerously low threshold for these investigations and prosecutions to commence," the report states, adding that Bragg has "opened the door for future prosecutions of a former president--or current candidate--that would widely be perceived as politically motivated."
Committee Republicans said Bragg inspired other prosecutors to pursue "politically motivated investigations and indictments of President Trump."
FLASHBACK: TOP PROSECUTORS IN MANHATTAN DA CASE AGAINST TRUMP RESIGN
Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his criminal trial, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP Pool)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"The fundamental mission of any prosecutor’s office is to uphold the rule of law," the report states. "And one of the hallmarks of this mission is to ensure that justice is blind—applied fairly and equally. Bragg’s politically motivated indictment of President Trump threatens to destroy this notion of blind justice by using the criminal justice system to attack an individual he disagrees with politically, and, in turn, eroding the confidence of the American people."
Bragg's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bragg-allowed-political-motivations-infect-prosecution-trump-house-judiciary-gop-says