One Republican bashed him as “pro-criminal.” Another referred to as him a “terrible” prosecutor with a behavior of dropping circumstances. A 3rd steered he was within the pocket of a rich Jewish financier continuously demonized by the far proper.
“He should resign and be disbarred,” declared Representative Jeff Van Drew, Republican of New Jersey.
Two weeks after Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district lawyer, introduced 34 felony costs in opposition to former President Donald J. Trump, House Republicans descended on his residence turf on Monday to carry a listening to attacking Mr. Bragg’s document on crime, leveling exaggerated and generally outright false costs.
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, convened his panel on the Jacob Ok. Javits Federal Building to listen to from an array witnesses who’ve been outspoken critics of Mr. Bragg for a session that was ostensibly about crime in New York City however whose unmistakable subtext was an effort to tarnish the person who’s prosecuting Mr. Trump.
The end result was a bitterly adversarial listening to that unfolded in a carnival-like ambiance, drawing indignant protesters from the left and the correct who hoisted indicators and hurled invective that was solely barely extra vitriolic than the controversy between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
At one level, Representative Hank Johnson, Democrat of Georgia, chastised Republicans for touring to New York to go after Mr. Bragg, saying they have been behaving like “jackbooted thugs.”
A single elected official most probably has little sway over crime developments in a significant metropolitan space, and crime in Manhattan, the place Mr. Bragg took workplace in January 2022, is down from final yr by about 2.4 % — although it stays up considerably from two years in the past.
Still, Republicans used particular person crime victims to attempt to impeach his document. One by one, the witnesses invited by Republicans informed private horror tales of their encounters with crime within the metropolis, together with struggling an antisemitic assault and dropping a beloved one in a brutal stabbing. The witnesses described New York — the place crime has plummeted in current a long time however spiked throughout the pandemic, as in different cities — as being in a state of decay, and blamed Mr. Bragg’s insurance policies.
“We received no help from his office,” mentioned Madeline Brame, the chairwoman of the Victims Rights Reform Council and the mom of a murder sufferer who for months has taken situation with the district lawyer. “It was a horrific experience.”
Democrats pushed again in opposition to the Republican effort to vilify Mr. Bragg whereas laboring to indicate sympathy for the victims.
“I fear that you are being used for a political purpose, despite your sincerity,” mentioned Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, prompting objections from the witnesses.
The listening to got here every week after Mr. Bragg filed a lawsuit in opposition to Mr. Jordan in search of to cease congressional Republicans from interfering in his case in opposition to Mr. Trump — the product of a virtually five-year investigation that started below his predecessor — and particularly, to bar them from deposing Mark F. Pomerantz, a lawyer who labored on the inquiry for a couple of yr.
On Monday, because the congressional listening to was getting underway, a lawyer for Mr. Jordan filed a response to Mr. Bragg’s lawsuit, saying that it represented “an extraordinary and unconstitutional” try to have a choose intervene in a congressional inquiry.
A lawyer for Mr. Bragg declined to touch upon Mr. Jordan’s response.
The listening to was repeatedly interrupted by protesters and outbursts. At one level, a gaggle loudly tried entry into the listening to room, chanting, “Let us in!” They held indicators that mentioned “Jim Jordan, Insurrectionist,” referring to the Ohio Republican’s function in planning the efforts in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the election outcomes, and “34 felonies,” a reference to the fees in opposition to Mr. Trump.
Antisemitism was on vivid show. Outside the Javits constructing, a person held an indication with the identify of the financier George Soros, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, together with the picture of a Star of David and greenback indicators. Several Republicans contained in the listening to room additionally centered their feedback on Mr. Soros, whom they blamed for supporting the campaigns of progressive prosecutors, together with Mr. Bragg’s.
“With antisemitic tropes emanating from House Republicans, it’s unsurprising, but no less vile, to see the Republicans bringing this antisemitism to New York outside today’s stunt hearing in Manhattan,” mentioned Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the highest Democrat on the committee.
Chaos erupted because the lawmakers left, with anti-Bragg protesters jeering.
Inside the listening to room, Democrats and Republicans engaged in a heated dispute over the state of crime in New York and across the nation.
Major crime is down barely in New York this yr in contrast with the identical interval final yr, in keeping with the newest statistics. But, as in cities across the nation, New York noticed a pointy improve in murders and shootings throughout the coronavirus pandemic. There was a rise in main crimes final yr in New York, however murders, shootings and different crimes have continued to drop.
Mr. Bragg has referred to New York because the “safest big city in America” and emphasised that its crime price is decrease than cities within the states of lots of his Republican critics, together with Columbus, Ohio, simply south of Mr. Jordan’s district.
“How do we move the venue so we can have a hearing in a city or state that has a serious crime problem — the state of Ohio,” mentioned Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island.
Republicans mentioned Mr. Bragg, who introduced upon taking workplace final yr that he wouldn’t be prosecuting sure misdemeanor crimes — however later revised these insurance policies amid a backlash — had prompted a criminal offense spree.
“Imagine that,” Mr. Jordan mentioned. “You leave criminals on the street, you get more crime.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Bragg fired again in an announcement: “For outside politicians to now appear in New York City on the taxpayer dime for a political stunt is a slap in the face to the dedicated N.Y.P.D. officers, prosecutors and other public servants who work tirelessly every day with facts and data to keep our home safe.”
For a lot of the listening to, Republicans averted mentioning Mr. Trump’s identify, in search of to maintain the give attention to crime in New York.
But Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, made the connection as he argued that Mr. Bragg had no business prosecuting Mr. Trump.
“Was it former President Trump that killed your son?” he requested one sufferer. “Was it former President Trump that killed your loved one?” he requested one other.
Source: www.nytimes.com