Statement from Congressman Dan Goldman on Coordination Between Donald Trump’s Legal Team and House Republicans

“Reporting from the New York Times and CNN has revealed that former president Donald Trump’s legal team has been directly coordinating with Republican Committee chairs to interfere with the Manhattan District Attorney’s criminal investigation into the former president, which Chairman Jim Jordan continues to pursue.  
  
“If accurate, then House Republicans are using the awesome power of Congress as a taxpayer-funded legal defense team for Donald Trump, a private citizen, who reportedly ‘directed’ the nature and pace of this interference. This gross abuse of power is far outside the jurisdiction of Congress, which has no authority to use Congressional Committees for political or non-legislative purposes. 
 
“The American people have a right to know the nature and degree of the coordination among Chairman Jordan, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump, and Mr. Trump’s legal team. It is imperative that Chairman Jordan and Speaker McCarthy immediately make available any documentation or correspondence that would shed light on this reported coordination, including any suggestion by Donald Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, to initiate an “investigation” into Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.  
  
“Reporting from ABC News indicates that this coordination continues, and that immediately following DA Bragg’s announced indictment of Mr. Trump, the former president began ‘calling congressional allies... urging them to defend him following news of the indictment.’  
  
“This is not an impeachment investigation, where Congressional Republicans served as Mr. Trump’s de facto defense lawyers. The rule of law requires that Donald Trump and his lawyers defend his criminal charges in a court of law, not a congressional committee room. 
  
“The American people need answers about the extent of Congressional Republicans’ collusion with Donald Trump’s defense team in an effort to interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.”

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