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Former Trump administration aide Alyssa Farah Griffin bashed Representative Jim Jordan's crime hearing in New York City on Monday, calling it proof that many GOP lawmakers are "out of touch" with their own voters.
Jordan, a Republican from Ohio and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, led a hearing at the Jacob Javits Federal Building in Manhattan on Monday to discuss the city's crime rate and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's policies. Jordan has continually criticized Bragg since the New York prosecutor indicted former President Donald Trump, accusing him in a hush money investigation stemming from Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to Bragg's probe and has repeatedly called the prosecution a "witch hunt."
Supporters of Trump, including Jordan, argue that Bragg's investigation is an attempt to interfere with the former president's reelection campaign for 2024. Jordan has also launched an oversight investigation into Bragg's prosecution of Trump, which has been met with a lawsuit from the district attorney.
Griffin, who served as White House director of strategic communications and press secretary for former Vice President Mike Pence, appeared on CNN Monday to discuss the Judiciary Committee's hearing, calling the move "clearly political theater."
"To me it shows that my party didn't learn much from the midterms," Griffin said. "Crime is a winning issue for Republicans, but an Ohio congressman coming to Manhattan to complain about Manhattan's crime rate is doing nothing for the voters of the rest of the country."
"This is clearly political theater," she added. "It is clearly a show to run interference for the former president."
Trump has shared a close relationship with Jordan since the former president left the White House, including encouraging the chairman and other House Republicans to investigate and defund federal law enforcement agencies over "weaponizing" the government under the administration of President Joe Biden.
Bragg argued in his lawsuit against Jordan that "Congress has no power to supervise state criminal prosecutions," adding that the charges brought against Trump "were approved by citizens of New York."
Griffin continued while speaking to CNN Monday that Jordan's hearing in Manhattan "just shows how out of touch much of the House Republican conference is with the very people that they represent, who want them to focus on inflation, actually dealing with crime at a national level, dealing with common-sense gun reforms."
"It's just not what they're interested in doing at this point," Griffin said.
A representative for Jordan told Newsweek via email Monday that the field hearing was focused on addressing New York City's crime rates and to highlight victims' stories, adding, "Find me an American who doesn't want their city to be safe."
During the hearing, some lawmakers and witnesses questioned Jordan for the hearing's location, arguing that Republican-controlled states such as Ohio have a higher violent crime rate than New York.
In a statement Monday, a Bragg aide said Manhattan had a much lower murder rate than Columbus, Ohio, which is near the district Jordan represents. In 2022, Columbus endured more than triple the number of homicides per 100,000 people, 15.4, compared to New York City's 5.1.
In 2021, New York City reported 456 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, a much lower rate than many Republican-controlled cities. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, reported 627 violent crimes per 100,000 residents the same year, and Miami, Florida, reported 615 per capita.
Update 4/17/23, 11:22 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Jordan's office.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more