WATCH: Jordan Torches Bragg for Caring ‘More About Perpetrators of Crime Than Victims’ at NYC Hearing

House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) tore into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday at a congressional hearing for the overwhelming number of repeat criminal offenders wreaking havoc on New York City.

Jordan opened the hearing with a statement accusing Bragg, who is pursuing criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, of enforcing the law in a politically opportunistic manner.

“In this country, justice is supposed to be blind, regardless of race, religion or creed,” Jordan said. “However, here in Manhattan the scales of justice are weighed down by politics. For the district attorney, justice isn’t blind. It’s about looking for opportunities to advance a political agenda, a radical political agenda.”

The chairman referenced a memo Bragg issued to staff when Bragg took office in January 2022 in which he instructed his team to lessen penalties for certain crimes, including certain types of robberies and assault.

As a result of Bragg’s posture, Jordan said, “there are already too many people who believe that they can commit crimes, resist arrest, interfere with police officers, and face zero consequences.”

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Republicans have arranged for six witnesses to speak at the crime hearing, taking place at the Javits Federal Building in Lower Manhattan.

The GOP’s witnesses include victims of crime, family members of victims of crime, and a Democrat New York City Council member who has witnessed the evolution of crime in New York City for decades.

“As we’ll hear today, repeat offenders are plaguing New York City,” Jordan said.

Quoting a top law enforcement official, Jordan added that NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell has warned that “recidivism is the undertow pulling against everything we are doing to keep our city safe.”

He noted statistics Sewell recently released revealing that in New York City last year, just 327 individuals were arrested more than 6,000 times for “retail theft.”

“Think about that,” the chairman said. “327 individuals responsible for 6,000 retail thefts, what we used to call ‘stealing,’ taking someone else’s property, each person arrested on average 20 times.”

As the Judiciary Committee members kicked off their hearing, Jordan noted the event would be one of multiple field hearings, i.e., those outside of Capitol Hill, that the committee would hold in “some of our greatest cities” to examine crime.

He said, “What better place to start than New York City, where videos of violent, senseless attacks appear almost daily, and where the DA of Lower Manhattan earned a reputation for caring more about the perpetrators of crime than the victims.”

Ranking member Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who represents a portion of Manhattan, dismissed the hearing as a “political stunt” in remarks prior to the hearing while flanked by New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and fellow Democrat members of Congress.

During his opening statement, Nadler pointed to high crime rates in Jordan’s state of Ohio and accused the chairman of “weaponizing” the Judiciary Committee to defend Trump, a reference to the Weaponization of the Federal Government Select Subcommittee that Jordan is also leading.

Emma-Jo Morris contributed to this report.