Rep. Jerry Nadler calls Republican hearings on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg "an outrageous abuse of power"
NEW YORK -- For many here in deep blue New York City, the hearings by the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee were nothing more than political theater staged to punish the Manhattan district attorney for indicting Donald Trump.
With signs saying "No Sham Hearings" and "Enough, Lock Jim Up," protesters engaged in a little street theater Monday outside the federal building in Lower Manhattan, where Republicans were staging their own political play that some say might have been called "Roast Alvin Bragg."
READ MORE: Mayor Adams, Rep. Nadler blast House Judiciary Committee hearing on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan -- he's the "Jim" in the aforementioned sign, struck the first blow as the curtain rose.
"For the district attorney, justice isn't blind. It's about looking for opportunities to advance a political agenda, a radical political agenda," Jordan said.
Jordan and his Washington thespians were intent on painting Bragg as someone who concentrated on the prosecution of former President Trump rather than street crime. It was political theater in a building that, believe it or not, is located on Broadway.
"This is a political stunt," Rep. Jerrold Nadler said.
READ MORE: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says "thorough investigation" led to Trump indictment
Nadler might well have summed up his feelings about the hearings with a quote from William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" that says "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
"They are using their public offices and the resources of our committee to protect their political patron Donald Trump. That is an outrageous abuse of power," Nadler said.
Mayor Eric Adams entered stage right.
"Welcome to the safest big city in America," Adams said. "When I first heard about this hearing, I thought Jim Jones was coming here, Jim Jordan was coming here to sit down with the police commissioner to find out exactly what we have done to decrease shootings in double digits, decrease crime or homicides in double digits, made our subway system safe."
But that wasn't the only drama. There were competing briefs filed in a suit brought by Bragg to stop the committee from forcing one of his top prosecutors from testifying about the Trump probe. Jordan said Bragg's suit lacks merit. But a stunning list of former prosecutors and congressmen supported Bragg, including former DA Cy Vance and former Republican congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut.
