Mark Pomerantz refuses to answer questions from House panel on Trump probe

Former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz refused to answer questions Friday during a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee, decrying the panel’s investigation as “an attempt to obstruct and undermine” District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Trump. 

Pomerantz, who worked with Bragg on the Trump probe, is also the author of a tell-all book that detailed the Manhattan District Attorney Office’s investigation into the 76-year-old former commander in chief. 

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had sought his testimony as part of his panel’s probe into whether the charges brought against Trump were politically motivated and how Bragg’s office used federal funds during the grand jury investigation. 

Pomerantz told the panel in his opening statement that he was appearing “as required” because “I respect the rule of law,” before issuing his rebuke of the Republican-led probe and announcing his intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. 

“What I do not respect is the use of the Committee’s subpoena power to compel me to participate in an act of political theater,” Pomerantz’s statement reads. “This deposition is for show. I do not believe for a moment that I am here to assist a genuine effort to enact legislation or conduct legislative ‘oversight.’”

“Fortunately, I do not have to cooperate with the cynical histrionics that this deposition represents,” the former prosecutor adds. “Although the rule of law compels me to be here, it does not require that I play a substantive role in your theatrical production. Under the law, I can decline to answer your questions for several reasons.”

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters Friday that Pomerantz was indeed not answering the committee’s questions, calling him an “obstructing witness.” 

“I’ve never had a more obstructive and less cooperative witness in my over 20 years in Congress,” Issa said. 

“The witness has not cooperated in any way, shape, or form — has simply appeared. And I would characterize as taking the Fifth on every single question. He has answered no substantive questions whatsoever. And clearly appears unwilling to answer any questions even about previous statements he’s made. He is actually invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, in addition to many others,” Issa added. 

Upon leaving the meeting room after Pomerantz’s five-hour-long deposition, Jordan told reporters that he was “surprised at some of the answers,” but declined to provide further details. 

His office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment. 

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) argued that Pomerantz shouldn’t have been forced to appear before the panel. 

“Today’s deposition simply underscored that House Republicans’ investigation into Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution by a local district attorney’s office has no nexus to Congress’s jurisdiction and is simply an effort to abuse the official authority of Congress to undermine the rule of law, interfere in an ongoing prosecution of a private citizen, and harass and badger a public official carrying out his official duties,” he said in a statement.

Bragg charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records shortly after Pomerantz left the office and wrote the bombshell book that included details about another probe into the former president that ultimately did not lead to charges.