Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his “soft-on-crime polices” at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday.
“Today’s hearing is about the administration of justice and keeping communities safe, something that has always been a central focus of the House Judiciary Committee,” Jordan stated while opening the hearing. “Our witnesses today have felt the effects of crime close up and personal … Their stories are emblematic of a city that’s lost its way when it comes to fighting crime and upholding the law.”
Jordan decried Bragg’s “soft-on-crime” policies, including his refusal to prosecute crimes such as trespassing and resisting arrest. He also slammed Bragg’s initial decision to not prosecute armed robberies as felonies unless someone was shot. (RELATED: Rep. Jerry Nadler Gets Interrupted Mid-Speech As Room Bursts Into Laughter)
“In this country, justice is supposed to be blind regardless of race, religion or creed,” the Ohio representative stated during the hearing. “However, here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics. For the district attorney, justice isn’t blind — it’s about looking for opportunities to advance a political agenda, a radical political agenda. Rather than enforcing the law, the DA is using his office to do the bidding of left-wing campaign funders.”
“In Bragg’s Manhattan, you can resist arrest, deal drugs, obstruct arrest, and even carry a gun to get away with it,” he added.
.@Jim_Jordan: “Soft-on-crime policies are going to ruin this great city…
This is something that has to stop! Justice isn’t supposed to be political.” pic.twitter.com/qW0iL8F51E
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 17, 2023
Among the witnesses was Victims Rights Reform Council Chairwoman Madeline Brame, who believed that two out of four of her son’s killers did not face justice under Bragg’s prosecution after her son was murdered in a 2018 gang attack. Two of the suspects were sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, while two others received much shorter sentences of seven years and 14 months, respectively.
“I think America loves this town … maybe most, I think Americans appreciate the people of this town and the example they showed the country after that tragic day of 9/11,” Jordan said. “Soft-on-crime policies are going to ruin this great city and that’s why we’re here. It’s happened in other cities, as Mr. Gaetz pointed out.”
“The objective fact is that Manhattan has instituted pro-crime, anti-victim policies that have resulted in an increase in violent crime and created this dangerous situation in the community, in one of America’s once-great cities that was the symbol of freedom, and opportunity, and liberty,” Republican Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson stated.
Alvin Bragg took office as New York’s DA in 2022. He finished his first year at a 22.4% crime increase compared to 2021, according to New York City Police Department statistics, though murders fell by 11.3%.