Several House Republicans announced support for a bill to defund the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) would revoke federal funds for the office, as well as retroactively force it to repay federal funds granted since Jan. 1, 2022.
Bragg’s office is prosecuting former President Donald Trump over alleged payments relating to a reported short relationship with former adult actress Stormy Daniels.
The Accountability for Lawless Violence In Our Neighborhoods Act (ALVIN) received considerable support from other Republicans in the chamber.
This included co-sponsors such as Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL).
Biggs said in a statement that the ALVIN bill was one of two he was introducing to hold Bragg’s office “accountable for its failure to address lawlessness in the region and for utilizing federal resources in the political prosecution of former U.S. President Donald J. Trump.”
“This weaponized prosecutor's office has spent thousands of federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize this political indictment,” Rep. Andy Biggs said. https://t.co/YsBC6hL71s
— IJR (@TheIJR) April 14, 2023
The other bill, the No Federal Funds for Political Prosecutions Act, would prohibit state and local law enforcement from “using funds or property seized through asset forfeiture” in any prosecution of a president, vice president or a candidate running for president.
Biggs cited Bragg’s “campaign pledge” to indict former President Donald Trump and his “unprecedented action of converting alleged minor business misdemeanors to 34 individual felonies.”
The bill states that no federal funds “may be awarded or otherwise made available to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.”
Biggs stated that American taxpayers have subsidized “this political indictment” and that the district attorney’s office is “demanding millions more in federal grants.”
The Arizona Republican also cited the high crime rate in New York City and wrote that Bragg was more focused on the prosecution of the former president than the “serious crime in his city.”
The bill’s sponsor also referenced the national debt, writing that “with an almost insurmountable national debt that exceeds $31 trillion, the nation simply cannot afford to support Mr. Bragg’s politicization of the criminal justice system.”
Biggs has previously challenged Biden administration officials and other Democrats during his tenure in Congress. Earlier this year, Biggs introduced articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas.
