Latest news with #JayBratt
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Mar-a-Lago special prosecutor takes the fifth at ‘weaponized' House committee
The former special counsel prosecutor Jay Bratt asserted his fifth amendment right not to answer questions during a Wednesday deposition before a Republican-led House committee looking for evidence of politicization in the prosecutions of Donald Trump, a spokesman said. Bratt, who led the federal criminal case over Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents as a top deputy to the former special counsel Jack Smith, was invited to testify by the House judiciary committee, which is chaired by the Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, a prominent defender of the president. 'This administration and its proxies have made no effort to hide their willingness to weaponize the machinery of government against those they perceive as political enemies. That should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law,' said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Justice Connection, a network of former justice department staff working to protect our former colleagues and the rule of law. 'In light of these undeniable and deeply troubling circumstances, Mr Bratt had no choice but to invoke his fifth amendment rights.' The appearance by Bratt, who declined to comment, was the first known instance of a special counsel prosecutor being hauled before the judiciary committee since Trump took office vowing revenge and personally directing the firings of more than a dozen prosecutors who worked for Smith within days of his inauguration. Republicans on the judiciary committee have long believed that the special counsel cases stemmed from political animus against Trump at the justice department. Jordan declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the committee. Smith charged Trump in two cases: in Florida, for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and defying a subpoena commanding their return; and in Washington, for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Justice department policy does not allow the prosecution of sitting presidents, and Smith dropped both indictments after Trump won re-election last November. The federal judge Aileen Cannon had in July of last year dismissed the classified documents case, after ruling that Smith had been unlawfully appointed because he was acting at the justice department with the powers of a 'principal officer', which requires confirmation by the Senate. Smith filed an appeal of the decision, which was unresolved at the time of Trump's election victory in November. Top justice department officials have made clear that they plan to investigate prosecutors who brought charges against Trump during his four years out of office. Two years ago, after Trump was indicted in Georgia on charges related to tampering with its 2020 election result, the now-attorney general, Pam Bondi, said that justice department prosecutors 'will be prosecuted, the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated.' Trump recently appointed Ed Martin, who temporarily served as the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC, to lead the department's weaponization working group, which has been tasked with investigating Smith as well as the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and the Atlanta-area prosecutor Fani Willis, both of whom indicted Trump on state charges. 'There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we'll charge them. But if they can't be charged, we will name them … And in a culture that respects shame, they should be people … that are shamed,' Martin said at a Tuesday press conference.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Key prosecutor in Trump's classified documents case to testify in front of House Judiciary Committee
A key federal prosecutor in the classified documents case against President Donald Trump is expected to privately testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee in the coming days, a source familiar with the process told CNN. Jay Bratt's deposition, which was first reported by The Guardian, is scheduled for May 14, the source added. Bratt is a former national security prosecutor who spearheaded the case in which Trump was indicted for taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government's attempts to retrieve the materials. While the case was ultimately dismissed, sources previously told CNN that Trump's legal team believed Bratt didn't afford the respect he should have to Trump as a then-former president. And as Republicans probe the Department of Justice's investigations into Trump, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee had long sought Bratt's testimony. With the investigations into Trump now complete and him returning to the White House, Congressional Republicans have had more success in obtaining documents and testimony. The House Judiciary Committee also recently interviewed a Department of Justice Tax Division prosecutor who the panel has been pursuing for months for their federal tax investigation into then-President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, who ultimately pleaded guilty in the case. CNN's Kaanita Iyer, Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Paula Reid, and Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.
CNN
10-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Key prosecutor in Trump's classified documents case to testify in front of House Judiciary Committee
A key federal prosecutor in the classified documents case against President Donald Trump is expected to privately testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee in the coming days, a source familiar with the process told CNN. Jay Bratt's deposition, which was first reported by The Guardian, is scheduled for May 14, the source added. Bratt is a former national security prosecutor who spearheaded the case in which Trump was indicted for taking classified national defense documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government's attempts to retrieve the materials. While the case was ultimately dismissed, sources previously told CNN that Trump's legal team believed Bratt didn't afford the respect he should have to Trump as a then-former president. And as Republicans probe the Department of Justice's investigations into Trump, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee had long sought Bratt's testimony. With the investigations into Trump now complete and him returning to the White House, Congressional Republicans have had more success in obtaining documents and testimony. The House Judiciary Committee also recently interviewed a Department of Justice Tax Division prosecutor who the panel has been pursuing for months for their federal tax investigation into then-President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, who ultimately pleaded guilty in the case.
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Lawyer who prosecuted Trump hauled in front of House judiciary committee
The former special counsel prosecutor Jay Bratt is expected to appear before the Republican-led House judiciary committee next week as it attempts to find instances of politicization in the federal criminal cases brought against Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the matter. The deposition of Bratt, who led the criminal case over Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents as a top deputy to the former special counsel Jack Smith, has been scheduled for 10am ET next Wednesday, according to a notice reviewed by the Guardian. Bratt's appearance is the first known instance of a special counsel prosecutor being hauled before the judiciary committee since Trump took office vowing revenge and personally directing the firings of more than a dozen prosecutors who worked for Smith within days of his inauguration. It was not clear how long the deposition might last and whether Bratt planned to invoke any privileges to avoid testifying. A spokesperson for the judiciary committee did not immediately respond to questions about the deposition. Bratt did not immediately respond on Friday to a text message seeking comment. Smith charged Trump in two cases: in Florida, for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and defying a subpoena commanding their return; and in Washington, for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The classified documents case was dismissed before it went to trial by the US district judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith had been unlawfully appointed because he was acting with the powers of a 'principal officer' at the justice department, which requires confirmation by the US Senate. The topics that House investigators have prepared for Bratt were also not clear. But the judiciary committee, led by Republican chair Jim Jordan, has long believed that the special counsel cases were the result of political animus against Trump at the justice department. In repeated letters to the former special counsel last year, House investigators demanded information from Smith about contacts between the Biden White House and the justice department about the criminal cases, including when Bratt once travelled to the White House. They also sought documents and communications about meetings between FBI and justice department officials before the decision was made to ask a magistrate judge for a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago. Bratt is widely understood to have encouraged FBI leaders to obtain a warrant. The warrant later proved to be the basis for the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice charges against Trump; the FBI retrieved 101 classified documents despite Trump's lawyers having previously claimed that they had complied with an earlier subpoena to return all classified materials. The House judiciary committee has also taken a special interest in a fraught and disputed meeting between then-Trump legal team attorney Stanley Woodward and Bratt at justice department headquarters during the height of the classified documents case in November 2022. The Guardian previously reported on the complaint that Woodward filed in federal district court in Washington about the meeting, where he alleged Bratt discussed Woodward's application to be a judge while trying to get the cooperation of Walt Nauta, Trump's valet and Woodward's client. In the filing, Woodward alleged that Bratt told him he did not think Woodward was a 'Trump guy' and that 'he would do the right thing' and get Nauta to testify against Trump in the classified documents case. The allegation was that Bratt had engaged in possible misconduct by suggesting Woodward's judgeship application might be considered more favorably if he convinced his client to flip. The matter was referred to the justice department's office of professional responsibility but it does not appear as though any action was taken. The extent of any potential impact on the case was unclear, since the meeting did not appear to have directly affected any testimony Nauta gave to prosecutors, and Bratt would not have had the ability to influence such an application, which is handled by the White House counsel's office.
