excalibur
Diamond Member
- Mar 19, 2015
- 18,378
- 34,951
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The Democratic Party clown show continues.
Since when can you invoke the 5th privilege unless you fear being criminally prosecuted for something you may answer?
Yet this clown Pomaerantz seems to have invented a new way to dissemble by such specious claims here.
No one on the committee was seeking any answers to anything for which he [Pomerantz] could even begin to believe he was criminally liable.
Once his book was published he cannot invoke his privilege over what he already made public and likely waived it as well for any questions on this topic.
Give him immunity and bring him in for another round of questioning.
Since when can you invoke the 5th privilege unless you fear being criminally prosecuted for something you may answer?
Yet this clown Pomaerantz seems to have invented a new way to dissemble by such specious claims here.
No one on the committee was seeking any answers to anything for which he [Pomerantz] could even begin to believe he was criminally liable.
Once his book was published he cannot invoke his privilege over what he already made public and likely waived it as well for any questions on this topic.
Give him immunity and bring him in for another round of questioning.
Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who led an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s finances, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during his deposition before the House Judiciary Committee on May 12.
The GOP-led committee is conducting oversight of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “unprecedented indictment” of a former U.S. president.
In March, Trump became the first former U.S. president to be criminally charged; he pleaded not guilty in April to all 34 felony counts (pdf) of falsifying business records in the case brought by Bragg.
As part of the House Judiciary Committee’s oversight, Pomerantz was subpoenaed to provide testimony. While Bragg sued in an attempt to block the congressional subpoena, a judge denied his request.
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Pomerantz in his opening statement said he was instructed by Bragg’s office to maintain its “claims of privilege and confidentiality in order to protect the integrity of the pending prosecution and continuing investigation of Donald Trump.”
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He also said he invoked the Fifth Amendment because even though he had written and spoken about his own investigation into Trump, formal charges are now pending against Trump, which means “the circumstances have changed.”
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Pomerantz also said that Bragg’s office, shortly before the publication of Pomerantz’s book, had warned him that he could face criminal liability if, among other things, he “disclosed grand jury material or violated a provision of the New York City Charter dealing with the misuse of confidential information.”
He said a lawyer from Bragg’s office told him on April 19 that his book exposed him to criminal liability, even though Pomerantz is “certain” that he “broke no laws.” (Me: Well with the publication of the book he's attempting to close the barn door after the horse got away).
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“I’ve never had a more obstructive and less cooperative witness in my over 20 years in Congress,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who is on the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters on May 12.
Issa said Pomerantz “simply appeared” and seemed to have taken the Fifth on “every single question,” and “answered no substantive questions whatsoever.” He also “clearly appears unwilling to answer any questions even about previous statements he’s made,” Issa said.
“We respect someone’s Fifth Amendment rights, but it’s very clear that this witness came with a clear intention of obstructing us,” he told reporters. “When his opening statement becomes public, I think we’ll make it clear that he has disdain for this body and has no intention of answering any of our questions.”
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Former Prosecutor Against Trump Takes the Fifth in Deposition Before GOP Committee
www.theepochtimes.com