Republicans take war with Alvin Bragg to his backyard: GOP field hearing in New York
Republicans are taking their fight with Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg to New York City on Monday, where they will hold a field hearing with “victims” of the district attorney’s administration.
The Judiciary Committee hearing on April 17, titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan,” will “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime and anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community.” for New York City residents,” according to a release.
Republicans, led by Jordan Judiciary Chairman R-Ohio, have alleged that Bragg condones crime in his city as he uses a new legal theory to indict former President Trump on 34 counts of counterfeiting business data.
The witness list has not yet been shared and it is unclear whether Republicans will invite Bragg himself to join. It is also not clear whether any Democrats will appear at the hearing.
From the start of 2022 when he took office through November of this year, Bragg downgraded 52 percent of misdemeanor crimes. When he took a case, his office won a conviction in only 51 percent of cases — a low figure compared to the district attorney’s office in recent years.
Republicans will bring their fight with Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg to New York City on Monday, where they will hold a field hearing with “victims” of the district attorney’s administration
Republicans, led by Jordan Judiciary Chairman R-Ohio, have alleged that Bragg condones crime in his city as he uses a new legal theory to indict former President Trump with 34 counts of counterfeiting of business data
New York City field hearing will bring GOP battle against indictment to DA Alvin Bragg’s backyard
Bragg’s office opposed the New York Republicans’ crime narrative, noting that homicides and shootings have declined in Manhattan since Bragg took office.
Don’t be fooled, the House GOP is coming to America’s safest major city for a political stunt. This hearing will not lead to any real efforts to increase public safety,” a spokesman said. The bureau noted that New York City’s homicide rate (5.2 per 100,000) is three times lower than Columbus, Ohio’s (15.4) — in a district bordering Jordan’s.
“If Chairman Jordan really cares about public safety, he could take a short drive to Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron or Toledo in his home state, instead of using tax dollars to travel hundreds of miles.”
Bragg, who campaigned for criminal justice reform, released a controversial “Day One” memo after taking office in which he stated that he would only seek jail time in the most serious cases.
In February 2022, Bragg backtracked on his policy a bit, sending a memo making it clear to all his associates that any crime involving a firearm would be prosecuted as a misdemeanor – contradicting the stance he had made a month earlier taken.
Bragg’s office also took heat when he attempted to prosecute 61-year-old bodega employee Jose Alba for fatally stabbing a man who attacked him with a bag of chips. Bragg later dropped the charges against Alba.
Crime in New York City increased in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic (before Bragg took office) following a decade-long, largely downward trend. Overall crime increased about 22 percent by 2022 — with Bragg taking office on the first day of that year.
From April 2022 to April 2023, most violent crimes are now down, but crimes and auto thefts are up.
The city was much safer in 2022 than during a dangerous period in the 1980s and 1990s — murders and robberies were down 80 percent from 1990 by 2022, and rapes were down 50 percent.
The Judiciary Committee, along with Oversight and Administration, have launched an all-out political war against Bragg over the indictment, most recently with a subpoena for Prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who formerly worked in Bragg’s office and wrote a book about the need to prosecute Trump.
Pomerantz tried to convince the district attorney to prosecute Trump, but stopped when Bragg rejected his legal theories.
Bragg has refused to comply with document requests from chairmen of the three committees regarding Bragg’s communications with the Justice Department. Bragg has described the Republicans’ interference as improper interference in a criminal case.
The charges against Trump were revealed Tuesday and include 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and “catch and kill” payments through the National Enquirer to Playboy model Karen McDougal and a doorman who claimed to have a story about Trump’s alleged love child with a housekeeper.