By Joseph Lord
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is demanding answers from a New York district attorney reportedly planning to arrest former President Donald Trump on March 21.
The district attorney in question, Alvin Bragg of Manhattan, is reportedly planning to arrest the former president over an alleged âhush moneyâ payment during the 2016 election. Trump is accused of furnishing money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to hide allegations of an affair between the two, which Trump denies having.
Republicans were quick to condemn the move as another episode in the saga of the âweaponizationâ of the federal government against Trump and his allies.
In his letter to Bragg (pdf), Jordanâjoined by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.)âcalled the impending arrest âan unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.â
Like other Republicans, Jordan argued that political motives undergird the investigation, particularly in view of Braggâs track record as a district attorney.
Jordan and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) alike have said that Bragg has historically been in favor of reducing convictions and penalties.
While serving as a district attorney, Bragg has regularly reduced felony charges, including violent felonies, to misdemeanors, a track record that McCarthy said was seen as âa matter of prideâ by Bragg. At the same time, violent crime has skyrocketed in New York and other major metropolitan centers across the United States.
âYour decision to pursue such a politically motivated prosecutionâwhile adopting progressive criminal justice policies that allow career âcriminals [to] run the streetsâ of Manhattanârequires congressional scrutiny about how public safety funds appropriated by Congress are implemented by local law-enforcement agencies,â Jordan wrote.
Republicans have accused Democrats of being âsoft on crime,â particularly in the wake of widespread calls beginning in mid-2020 to âdefund the police.â
Other Republicans have warned about the dangers of left-wing district attorneys such as Bragg, whom Republicans accuse of letting ideology interfere with performing their duties. District attorneys have broad authority over which cases go to court and which charges can be pleaded down.
âTenuous and Untestedâ
Critics of the reportedly impending arrest have argued that in addition to being beyond the statute of limitations, the charges against Trump are based on allegations that other prosecutors dismissed.
Braggâs hope to arrest Trump relies on a legal basis thatâs âtenuous and untested,â he contended.
Jordan accused Braggâs office of spending years âsearching for a basisâany basisâon which to bring chargesâ against the former president.
He noted that even The Washington Postâa publication vehemently opposed to Trump and his alliesâconsiders the charges âunusualâ in view of the fact that âprosecutors have repeatedly examined the long-established details but decided not to pursue charges.â
The legal basis for the case, Jordan said, relies heavily on testimony from Trumpâs former attorney Michael Cohen, who has been convicted of perjury in the past.
âCohen has been vocal about his deeply personal animus toward President Trump,â he said. âUnder these circumstances, there is no scenario in which Cohen could fairly be considered an unbiased and credible witness.â
Rather than respect for the rule of law, Jordan suggested, the investigation has been âmotivated by political calculationsâ by Bragg.
âThe Type of Thing America Hatesâ
McCarthy also blasted Bragg, accusing him of hypocrisy and political motivations.
âIt doesnât matter which side of the issue youâre onâthis is the type of thing America hates,â he said.
McCarthy made the comments during a House Republican leadership press conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Florida, for Republicansâ annual House retreat.
âDemocrats and Republicans alike hate this kind of justice,â he said. â[The law] is supposed to be equal to all in America.â
McCarthy noted that two other district attorneys had passed on the case being reopened against Trump because of a lack of evidence.
âLawyer after lawyer after lawyer will tell you this is the weakest case out there,â he said.
The effort to arrest Trump, McCarthy said, is tantamount to âsomeone putting their thumb on the scale because they donât like someone elseâs political views.â
Braggâs office didnât respond by press time to a request for comment.