House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik is expected to join the House Judiciary Committee in next week’s hearing focused on the crime crisis in New York City, Fox News Digital has learned.
The House Judiciary Committee is holding a field hearing in New York City to ‘examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin 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 hearing, ‘Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan,’ is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the Javits Federal Building.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked for Stefanik to join the panel for Monday’s hearing.
Stefanik, who represents New York’s 21st Congressional District, is not a member of the House Judiciary Committee, but Republicans are expected to let her participate in the panel’s highly anticipated hearing in lower Manhattan.
‘New York City is the epicenter of the crime crisis,’ Stefanik told Fox News Digital. She blamed ‘far-left radical district attorneys like Alvin Bragg’ for ‘causing this crime crisis.’
Stefanik felt strongly about participating in the hearing, saying ‘victims need a voice’ and stressing that victims of violent crime come from ‘all political backgrounds.’
‘New Yorkers fear for their safety,’ Stefanik said, pointing to the ‘revolving door of criminals released back into the communities’ who are ‘wreaking havoc’ on the city.
‘I intend to make sure New Yorkers are represented at this hearing,’ she said.
Jose Alba, a bodega clerk charged with murder after acting in self-defense, will be one of the witnesses at the hearing.
Bragg took over as district attorney in January 2022 from Cyrus Vance. The crime wave has intensified under Bragg’s watch.
‘He is refusing to go after criminals but is prosecuting Joe Biden’s top opponent,’ Stefanik said of his investigation into former President Trump.
Trump last week pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in New York. The charges, which are related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign, came out of Bragg’s investigation.
Bragg alleged Trump ‘repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.’
Trump has slammed the DA’s investigation and the indictment as ‘political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history.’
‘New Yorkers are smart,’ Stefanik said. ‘They want their DA to prosecute violent criminals.’
As for Democrats, Stefanik said, ‘They continue to put their heads in the sand.
‘Their policies have caused the crime crisis in New York. Republicans stand strongly with police, with law enforcement and with victims.’
Trump was back in New York City Thursday for a deposition before New York State Attorney General Letitia James. James, a Democrat, has been conducting a civil investigation into the Trump Organization since she took office in January 2019.
James brought a lawsuit against Trump in September alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. She also alleged Trump ‘inflated his net worth by billions of dollars’ and said his children helped him to do so.
When asked for comment, Stefanik told Fox News Digital that James is ‘part of the far-left radicals.’
‘It is just another chapter of the political witch hunt going back to 2016,’ she said.