House Judiciary to Hold ‘Field Hearing’ in NYC

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee will hold a “field hearing” in New York City next week to learn about the impact of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies on his “victims.”

According to the committee’s schedule, the hearing will take place at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 17, at the Javits Federal Building, which is not far from the courthouse where former President Donald Trump was arraigned last Tuesday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

While it’s unclear if Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will invite Bragg to the proceedings, a source told the New York Post that the hearing will scrutinize “New York’s rampant crime and victims of Alvin Bragg.”

The witness list has not yet been made public; the source told the Post, however, that “victims” of Bragg’s “failure to prosecute” are expected to testify.

Many Republicans have accused Bragg, a Democrat, of being soft on violent crime even as he pursues what some have deemed a weak case against Trump to score political points.

Last Thursday, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, tweeted, “Over 72% of NYC violent crime suspects freed without bail go on to commit more crimes. Alvin Bragg ignores real criminals to attack political rivals.”

According to the Post, Bragg downgraded 52% of felonies to misdemeanors from Jan. 1, 2022, when to took office, through November. His office won a conviction only 51% of the time in felony cases. Both figures were lower than in other recent years, according to the Post.

The progressive DA also came under fire last year when he charged bodega clerk Jose Alba with second-degree murder after Alba fatally stabbed a man who attacked him inside the store.

Following a national outcry, Bragg’s office dropped the charges in July.

Bragg’s office has pushed back against the GOP claim that crime is rampant in the Big Apple, pointing to a decline in homicides and shootings in Manhattan since Bragg took office.

“New York remains one of the safest big cities in the U.S. with a far lower murder rate than the most populous cities where the Committee Chairmen hail from – Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky,” a spokesperson told Axios.

The committee has requested testimony from Bragg, as well as documents, related to the Trump case, but has so far been rebuffed. Bragg has described the request as improper interference in a criminal matter and one of his aides told a Judiciary staffer to “stop calling us with this bulls***” before hanging up on them, according to the Post.

Last week, the panel subpoenaed former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who resigned from Bragg’s office in protest of the DA’s initial decision not to pursue Trump.