Republican Representative Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, begins his hearing on New York City local crime today as a means of attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose case against Donald Trump he has portrayed as a politically-motivated stunt.
Bragg—a Democrat—has led the investigation into Donald Trump’s role in the payment of $130,000 in hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Earlier this month, the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts for falsifying business records linked to the case.
Some Republicans, including Jordan, have seen the probe into Trump as an attempt to interfere with the 2024 presidential election and have questioned the district attorney’s use of federal funds for the investigation. Jordan and Trump’s supporters have focused on Bragg’s record on crime as a way of undermining him throughout the probe into Trump.
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“Alvin Bragg, as you know, is going after President Trump when you have all kinds of things happening in his town (New York City) that are harmful to families who live there,” the Ohio congressman said on Fox News last week.
On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee will meet at the Jacob Javits Federal Building in Manhattan at 9 a.m. ET, where they will hear from witnesses about how “Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents,” the committee said in a statement.
The case is just the latest in the conflict between Jordan and Bragg.
On Tuesday last week, the Manhattan DA filed a lawsuit against Jordan to stop what he called a “campaign of intimidation” and block a subpoena to Mark Pomerantz—a former senior prosecutor who worked in the DA’s office—by the Republican-led House Judiciary committee.
The committee chaired by Jordan requested that Pomerantz, who has expressed disagreements with some aspects of the case, testify before Congress to produce documents related to Trump’s indictment.
Despite the lawsuit representing a possible setback in his attempt to block the case against Trump, Jordan has appeared defiant.
“First, they indict a president for no crime,” Jordan tweeted last week. “Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”
Bragg’s request to block the house committee’s subpoena will be heard in court on April 19 after being initially rejected by a judge.
Newsweek reached out to Jordan’s team and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office via email for comment.