Global Courant 2023-04-17 23:23:36
Donald Trump’s congressional allies headed to Manhattan on Monday, where they staged a field hearing to attack District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, as weak on crime — all part of the Republican strategy to end the historic prosecution of to undermine the former president.
Led by Chairman Jim Jordan, the powerful House Judiciary Committee heard from violent crime victims, while Republicans argue Bragg dropped the ball to keep the public safe to focus on prosecuting Trump. Bragg’s office has defended and argued against the Trump investigation to new data showing that crime in Manhattan has dropped significantly.
The high-profile hearing represented yet another escalation in the ongoing battle between Bragg and Trump and his closest allies on Capitol Hill.
Bragg announced this month that a grand jury in Manhattan had indicted Trump in a hush money scheme to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. On April 4, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in New York.
Trump and other Republicans have dismissed the Manhattan investigation and indictment as a politically motivated witch hunt designed to harm the GOP’s 2024 presidential frontrunner.
Jordan, R-Ohio and other House GOP committee chairs have launched their own investigations into Bragg’s investigation of Trump and have called on the district attorney to testify before Congress, a request Bragg has denied. Jordan also subpoenaed former New York County special assistant district attorney Mark Pomerantz, who had led the district attorney’s office investigation into Trump’s finances before he stepped down last year.
Bragg, who has received multiple death threats, responded last week by suing Jordan to have the courts block the subpoenas, calling the congressional investigation an “unconstitutional attempt to undermine an ongoing criminal prosecution and investigation into Trump in New York.” .
On Monday, Jordan and Republicans staged a congressional hearing targeting Bragg in his backyard, in the Javits Federal Building.
“That outside politicians now appear in New York City on the taxpayer for a political stunt is a slap in the face to the dedicated NYPD officers, prosecutors and other officials who work tirelessly every day,” Bragg said. said in a statement.
Democrats, led by Ranking Member, Rep. Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., used the hearing to push back, calling it “a political stunt” designed to “protect Donald Trump.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said it was no coincidence that Republicans focused their crime hearing on New York. “Apparently, Manhattan is just beautiful this time of year. What a remarkable coincidence… Of course, this is not a coincidence at all. Instead, the GOP leadership and Congress are doing what they have done best over the past six years. And that is to act as a criminal defense attorney for Donald J. Trump.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, RN.Y., told reporters she thought the hearing “would take place regardless of” Trump “because this is an issue I’ve highlighted and pressured my colleagues (about) over and over again.”
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said part of the reason Republicans wanted to hold the hearing in Manhattan is because their voters see and ask for reports of New York City crime on the news.
Bragg’s office pushed back Republicans, calling New York City “the safest major city in America” and highlighting New York Police Department records that showed violent crime had been committed. dropped in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a year ago in Manhattan. According to the NYPD, homicides are down 14%, shootings are down 17%, and burglaries are down 21%.
“In DA Bragg’s first year in office, New York City had one of the lowest homicide rates of any major city in the United States (5.2) nearly three times lower than Columbus, Ohio (15.4),” it said. Bragg’s office.
Witnesses downplayed the statistics, saying a sense of insecurity in New York permeated the citizenry, with residents fearful of taking the city’s sprawling subway system or walking the streets.
“You can’t convince us not to believe our lying eyes with your numbers because we see it with our eyes day in and day out,” said Madeline Brame, president of the Victims Rights Reform Council, which was founded in honor of her son who was killed in Harlem in 2018.
Brame claimed the case against her son’s alleged attacker fell apart when Bragg took office last year and called on Congress to withhold federal funding for the district attorney’s office.
“I’m not alone, there are hundreds and thousands of us, we don’t care about politics,” she said. ‘We don’t care. It could be the man on the moon running for president, okay, as long as whoever is on the job (can) bring some civility and common sense to our city.”
Protesters, meanwhile, shouted outside the hearing room, some chanting “We love Trump,” and others calling Jordan a “traitor” and an “insurgent.”
Jim Kessler, co-founder and senior vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, noted in his opening statement that New York City’s homicide rate is lower than that of Republican-led states such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. During questioning, Kessler noted that crime rates for a range of violent crimes were higher in Jordan’s home state, Ohio, than in New York City.
“We live in a violent country like no other developed country,” Kessler said. “And the fact is that New York City is not only safer than most major cities in America, it is also safer than most cities of any size and per capita. New York City is safer than most states from the members who sit on the majority podium.
But as Democrats tried to emphasize New York’s stricter gun laws compared to Republican-led states, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
“The criminals will get guns, you can’t help it,” said Barry Borgen, a commission witness and father of an anti-Semitic hate crime victim, in response to Democratic arguments that stricter gun laws across the country would limit violent crime .
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and other Democrats suggested that the witnesses were being abused and used as props. “I fear that, despite your sincerity, you are being used for political purposes,” she said angrily from the crowd.
Shooting back, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that the committee “is not here to use anyone, but to raise the voices of brave people who are here to tell their stories.”
“Ms. Brame, do you feel used at this hearing?” Gaetz asked.
“I’m a willing participant,” Brame replied.
Gaetz posed a similar question to Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims Rights NY whose friend was fatally stabbed outside a New Jersey club in 2005. “Fire Alvin Bragg.”
“Let me ask you this way: Do you feel more used by this committee hearing or do you feel more used by a criminal justice system that allowed people to kill people you love and care about without consequence?” Gaetz said.
“That last one,” Harrison replied. “And I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to testify here on behalf of the victims because the Democratic Party, including Mr. Nadler and everyone here today, has ignored us in this city.”
The commission also learned of Jose Alba, a former Harlem bodega clerk charged with manslaughter by Bragg’s office and sent to Riker’s Island Jail after stabbing a man who jumped behind the counter and attacked Alba last July . Alba had claimed self-defense. And after a protest from New York City Mayor Eric Adams and others, Bragg dropped the murder chargeaccording to NBC New York.
Others who testified included Paul DiGiacomo, president of the New York City’s Detectives’ Endowment Association, and Robert F. Holden, New York’s Democratic City Councilman, who called on Bragg at the hearing to prioritize arresting and jailing more people who have committed alleged crimes.
Adams, a Democrat who has harassed some on the left with his approach to fighting crime, called on the GOP to stick to gun safety laws and an appointment to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
“We need to focus on how we deal with the gun violence that is choking America and let the prosecutor do his job,” Adams said at a news conference Monday morning.
Allan Smith reported from Manhattan, Scott Wong reported from Washington.
