Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has introduced two bills to defund the Manhattan District Attorney’s (DA) Office following the indictment of President Donald Trump.
In a comment emailed to the Epoch Times about the bills, Biggs wrote:
“As the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, I will not allow District Attorney Alvin Bragg to misuse federal resources sent by Congress to fund the weaponized prosecution of a former U.S. president, while blatantly ignoring soaring crime in New York City.
“Bragg has repeatedly made clear his top priority as District Attorney is to leverage the legal system to target conservatives,” Biggs said. “I will use every tool I have to protect conservatives and to restore impartiality in our judicial institutions.”
Biggs introduced two bills on April 13 intended to address these concerns.
The first bill, the Accountability for Lawless Violence In Our Neighborhoods Act, or the ALVIN Act, would prohibit federal funds from being awarded to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and requires the Office to repay federal funds granted after Jan. 1, 2022.
The second bill, the No Federal Funds for Political Prosecutions Act, would prohibit state or local law enforcement agencies from using funds or property seized through asset forfeiture to investigate or prosecute the president, vice president, or a candidate for the office of president in a criminal case.
Biggs added that it was concerning to see the Manhattan DA’s office wasting federal resources for political purposes instead of addressing serious crimes in the city.
“[W]ith 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 said.
New York City, like most other metropolitan areas across the United States, has seen a major spike in violent crimes over the past two years.
Following the death of George Floyd, fringe positions like defunding the police and minimizing penalties for violent crime became more mainstream among many left-wing prosecutors and DAs.
As DA, Bragg has reduced more than half of the felony charges that came through his office to misdemeanors. Republicans say this approach to law enforcement is in part responsible for the massive increase in violent crime.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has indicated his own opposition to the prosecution of Trump. Thus, the bill could stand for a vote in the lower chamber.
Prospects for the bills are less sanguine in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority. Democrats are likely to oppose the legislation, as they have accused Republicans of attempting to meddle in a legal matter.
