With the possibility of an unprecedented indictment of a former president looming, congressional interference with a state prosecution of Donald Trump has already begun. Recently, Republican House Representatives demanded documents and testimony from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg before the weaponization of the federal government subcommittee panel. Bragg has been investigating Trump's potential involvement in the falsification of business records and a $130,000 payment made on his behalf to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

In response, Leslie Dubeck, the general counsel for Bragg's office, told the GOP committee chairmen that their demands would reveal "non-public information about a pending criminal investigation, which is confidential under state law." She called their demands an "unlawful incursion into New York's sovereignty," citing historical precedent and Supreme Court opinions about the division of state and federal authority.

The use of congressional investigation powers to engage in law enforcement is illegal. While the Constitution is silent on Congress's power to conduct investigations, it has been understood since the very first Congress that the legislative body has implied powers within Article I, but the bounds of those powers have been a topic of debate. The Supreme Court has noted that Congress's power to obtain information is "broad" and "indispensable," but it also stated that this power has limitations, and subpoenas should not be overly burdensome to enforce.

If the House committee chairmen move to issue a subpoena demanding Bragg appear in Washington, they will be viewed as meddling in the prosecution that is both brazenly partisan and probably illegal.