I sure hope Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg enjoyed his moment in the afterglow of the Trump indictment a couple of weeks ago.

It was a different story for the B team yesterday in front of U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. She was entertaining the arguments Bragg’s attorney was putting forth to squash a subpoena Rep Jim Jordan had issued to one of Bragg’s former prosecutors, a fellow named Mark Pomerantz.

Well, okay. Not so much “entertaining” as “shredding” and using a machete to cut through the BS jungle. It had to be pretty uncomfortable for the B team’s lawyer Theodore Boutrous.

…Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, issued the ruling hours after a hearing in which she peppered lawyers on both sides with questions, asking them to parse thorny issues of sovereignty, separation of powers and Congressional oversight arising from the historic indictment.

…Vyskocil aggressively questioned lawyers for Bragg, who is prosecuting Trump, and the House Judiciary Committee, which started scrutinizing Bragg’s investigation of the former president in the weeks before his indictment. She said sought to focus on the legalities, not the politics surrounding the case.

“I’m talking about the subpoena, that’s what’s in front of me,” Vyskocil said. “Not all the political rhetoric that’s been flying back and forth. That’s all color. That’s all theater, but it’s not what’s in front of me.”

Part of Judge Vyskocil’s reasoning as far as allowing the subpoena to go forward concerned the fact that its target, former prosecutor Pomerantz, had written a book about the Trump investigation with the knowledge of the Manhattan DA’s office, who did nothing about it. If the former employee’s information was so privileged that he couldn’t speak to a Congressional investigation, why did Bragg allow him to publish what was basically an insider memoir?

…In her ruling, Vyskocil ruled that the district attorney waived the right to privilege over any information in Pomerantz’s book because Bragg’s office didn’t take any legal action before or after the publication of “Inside Account.”

“While Bragg maintains that Pomerantz’s inappropriate disclosures cannot waive DANY’s privilege, such a claim is belied by DANY’s inaction in response to Pomerantz’s known plan to publish a book about DANY’s investigation into President Trump. If that information ever was protected from disclosure as attorney work product, the protection has been waived by DANY. Bragg concedes that he was aware of Pomerantz’s intention to publish the book before it was published,” the judge wrote.

Vyskocil also said Pomerantz, who is a named defendant in the suit, ultimately got himself into the sticky situation that’s made national headlines.

“The Court notes that Pomerantz is in this situation because he decided to inject himself into the public debate by authoring a book that he has described as ‘appropriate and in the public interest,’” she added.

Jordan’s committee lawyer pointed out the obvious hypocrisy, as well, considering how much talking Pomerantz did during his publicity tour for the book – even making a “60 Minutes” appearance.

…Berry, the committee lawyer, argued that Pomerantz has already shared lots of information with the public about his work on the Trump investigation and the Judiciary Committee has the right to question him about it, too.

“I don’t think this is either rational or reasonable behavior that somehow the House Judiciary Committee committee ranks below ’60 Minutes,'” Berry argued.

Ultimately the judge found the Bragg team’s arguments held no water, denying his request to squash the Pomerantz subpoena.

…On Wednesday District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil rejected a bid by Bragg’s legal team to block the disposition of Mark Pomerantz, formerly the Manhattan DA’s deputy. The judge concluded Bragg does not have “a legal basis” to quash the congressional subpoena which was issued for Pomerantz, adding: “Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.”

First, she tied up business, making sure Bragg can’t go looking for greener pastures.

This is really something. The judge doesn’t mince words with Bragg. The subpoena is legally valid, and Bragg can’t challenge OTHER subpoenas he has issue with by judge shopping. This judge has ordered retention over all of them. See next tweets for a few examples, but I suggest… https://t.co/WlSu01KLmN

— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) April 19, 2023

And then – HOLY SMOKES – did she ever unload on Alvin Bragg.

For starters, Judge Vyskocil stomps the 35 page complaint as just a massive public relations rant against Donald Trump, dismissing it out of hand as a stunt.

“…The reality is that, as framed, this action is merely a motion to quash a subpoena dressed up as a lawsuit.”

But not before noting that Bragg has already admitted to using FEDERAL forfeiture funds to?

Investigate Trump.

She puts the hammer down.

…“In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights. Bragg complains of political interference in the local DANY (District attorney of New York) case, but Bragg does not operate outside of the political arena. Bragg is presumptively acting in good faith. That said, he is an elected prosecutor in New York County with constituents, some of whom wish to see Bragg wield the force of law against the former President and a current candidate for the Republican presidential nomination,” Vyskocil wrote.

“Jordan, in turn, has initiated a political response to what he and some of his constituents view as a manifest abuse of power and nakedly political prosecution, funded (in part) with federal money, that has the potential to interfere with the exercise of presidential duties and with an upcoming federal election,” the judge added.

Vyskocil reinforced her point in court that it is not her place to consider potential motivations of either side.

“The Court is further unmoved by Bragg’s purported concern at the prospect of ‘inject[ing] partisan passions’ into a forum where they do not belong,” Vyskocil said.

“By bringing this action, Bragg is engaging in precisely the type of political theater he claims to fear.”

Tracy Beanz has put together a great thread with excerpts from the opinion, including some scalding footnotes. I hope Bragg has some ice for that burn.

It’s so bad, such a thorough verbal beatdown, even the pissy Newsweek headline had me howling.

Federal Judge Trashes Alvin Bragg’s ‘Tirade’ Against Donald Trump in Ruling

Hearing trash called out for being trash is so refreshing these days.

Series of benchslaps in this order by federal judge denying Alvin Bragg TRO seeking to enjoin the House subpoena to a member of his team who bragged in a book about his pro bono efforts to prosecute Trump. Court demolishes Bragg’s & Pomerantz’s arguments: https://t.co/HvS4EZXK69

— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) April 20, 2023

“Bench slaps” Harmeet Dhillon called them. She’s got lots of good info in her thread, too.

In events this morning, the appeals court granted Bragg a temporary stay on the testimony.

…The appeals court wrote Thursday that a three-judge panel will consider Bragg’s appeal of a Wednesday ruling by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, in which she concluded that she has no standing to block the subpoena. The committee and its Republican chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, have aggressively confronted Bragg in the weeks since Trump was indicted in Manhattan.

Judge Vyskocil stomped all over Alvin Bragg, chapter and verse.

Thank goodness there’s still a level head left in the city with the courage to follow through.

Now we see if there are any others left.