GOP Seeks To Defund Manhattan District Attorney Prosecuting Donald Trump

House Republicans have mounted an unprecedented effort to intervene in a local prosecution on behalf of the former president that is facing criminal charges.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

WASHINGTON ― New legislation from House Republicans aims to defund the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after he filed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump last week.

The symbolic bill is yet another attempt by Republicans to shield Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner who was charged with 34 felony counts last week for violating New York state law by allegedly falsifying business records. Bragg said the case revolves around hush money payments Trump’s former lawyer made to an adult film star in order to silence her on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.

Congressional Republicans have mounted an unprecedented effort to intervene in a local prosecution, calling Bragg’s charges entirely motivated by politics. They’ve subpoenaed a former prosecutor from the Manhattan DA’s office to testify and have scheduled a Monday field hearing in New York City to accuse Bragg of failing to prosecute violent crimes, all under the pretense of legislative oversight.

“I just introduced legislation to hold DA Alvin Bragg accountable for failing to address lawlessness and for utilizing federal resources in the political prosecution of President Trump. I am defunding his Manhattan Office and requiring it to repay us,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) tweeted on Thursday.

Biggs’ bill is titled the “Accountability for Lawless Violence In Our Neighborhoods Act,” or the “ALVIN Act,” named after the Manhattan prosecutor. It would require Bragg to return all federal funding since he took office, which he said is being used on programs to fight crime. Its introduction was first reported by the Daily Caller.

The legislation is co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Mary Miller (Ill.), Eli Crane (Arizona), Paul Gosar (Arizona), Ralph Norman (S.C.), and Bob Good (Va.)

Bragg, who is a Democrat, fired back this week by filing a federal lawsuit accusing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, of a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” him over his prosecution of Trump.

House Republicans also introduced legislation this week that would prevent local district attorneys from pursuing charges against former presidents, in yet another effort to shield Trump. The former president is also facing the possibility of criminal charges in Georgia over his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Biggs, a far-right GOP congressman, supported Trump’s lies about the 2020 presidential election and later asked the former president for a pardon, according to the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot