Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told Newsmax Friday that the only thing worse than criminals are prosecutors like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who have "been funded by George Soros to do … evil things in the United States of America.
"American cities are becoming dangerous places," Van Drew said during an appearance on Newsmax's "American Agenda." "You have the stats right up there. Rape has gone up, robbery, assault, larceny. We have, in some cities, over 50% of the crimes that were originally felonies have been reduced to misdemeanors. I don't care what race, color, or creed you are, you want to be safe.
"How about all these little babies in Chicago that are shot by ricochet bullets or whatever, and it isn't legal gun owners," he continued. "It's bad prosecutors. The only thing worse than the criminals are these prosecutors. They should go to jail for what they're doing to our country."
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is scheduled to hold a field hearing in New York City on Monday to hear from those affected by Bragg's soft-on-crime policies, with Jose Alba, a bodega clerk charged with murder after he stabbed a man who attacked him, on the expected witness list.
The proceedings aim to show that crimes are occurring in the Big Apple but are not being properly prosecuted at a time when Bragg has been overseeing former President Donald Trump's indictment over alleged business records falsification.
When asked what needs to happen to see things turn around, Van Drew said "it's going to take … good prosecutors, good mayors, people who care about the people who live in this country and live in these cities.
"What's happening is terrible," he said. "One of the witnesses is going to be the gentleman that worked in the bodega. He protected himself, he kept himself alive, and he protected the property that was there. He used a knife, he didn't use a gun, and he killed the person that was attacking him. He was put in jail for a while."
"I think they would have left him in jail," the congressman continued. "There was video and there was tremendous outcry and Bragg resentfully slowly released him. But boy, he'll release anybody that's done anything as bad as you can think on a moment's notice. It's so bizarre; it disgusts me."
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