Republicans introduce bill to defund Manhattan district attorney after Trump criminal charges
Cami Mondeaux
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Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced two pieces of legislation targeting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, marking the latest form of retaliation by House Republicans in response to the criminal charges leveled against former President Donald Trump.
One of the bills Biggs introduced on Thursday seeks to revoke federal funding to Bragg’s office and would require the district attorney to repay all funds that were granted any time after Jan. 1, 2022. The Accountability for Lawless Violence In Our Neighborhoods Act, or the ALVIN Act, named after the district attorney, would prohibit federal funds from being allocated to the office in the future.
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“This weaponized prosecutor’s office has spent thousands of federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize this political indictment and is demanding millions more in federal grants,” Biggs said in a statement. “It’s disturbing to see District Attorney Bragg waste federal resources for political purposes rather than addressing the serious crime in his city.”
Several Republicans co-sponsored the legislation, including Reps. Mary Miller (IL), Eli Crane (AZ), Paul Gosar (AZ), Ralph Norman (SC), and Bob Good (VA).
Biggs also introduced a measure that would prohibit state or local law enforcement agencies from taking funds or property that were seized through asset forfeiture and using them to investigate or prosecute the sitting president, vice president, or presidential candidate in a criminal case.
The legislation comes just days before Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are set to hold a field hearing focused on violent crime in New York City. The hearing is meant to undercut the work of Bragg and erode his credibility as he prosecutes Trump on a number of criminal charges.
In his indictment, Bragg accused Trump of orchestrating a “catch and kill” scheme during the 2016 presidential cycle to identify negative stories about him and pay large sums of money to bury them from public view. After making such payments, Trump is accused of hiding the conduct by making “dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
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Republicans have decried the charges as being politically motivated, vowing to investigate Bragg and his office.
“District Attorney Alvin Bragg ran on a campaign pledge to indict President Trump,” said Biggs, who sits on the Judiciary Committee. “Bragg took the unprecedented action of converting alleged minor business misdemeanors to 34 individual felonies in an attempt to put President Trump behind bars and humiliate him and his supporters.”