The details of an unusual hearing by the House Judiciary Committee hearing in New York City on Monday are coming into focus, but they are not yet final. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sources confirmed to Spectrum News that the House Judiciary Committee’s Democrats are working to get Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., waived onto the panel for a special field hearing held in New York on Monday

  • The hearing “will examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents," the panel said in a statement

  • The committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, announced the hearing just days after former President Donald Trump was arraigned on felony charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat

  • Rep. Elise Stefanik, the top-ranking congressional Republican in New York, is expected to attend; Though she is not a member of the Judiciary panel, discussions are underway about waiving her on to the committee to participate, per a committee aide

The committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, announced the hearing just days after former President Donald Trump was arraigned on felony charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. 

Monday’s hearing will look at crime in New York City, with the committee's Republicans saying they will focus on what they describe as Bragg's "pro-crime, anti-victim policies."

Violent crimes have increased across the city in recent years, though the number of murders in 2022 was at its lowest since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, according to NYPD data. As of April 2, murders, rapes, shootings and robberies were all down, while felony assaults have risen 9% compared to the same period in 2022.

Overall, crime is lower than in the early 2000s and far below the worst years of the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan is a staunch ally of Trump who has been highly critical of Bragg’s investigation, blasting the inquiry as political and charging the district attorney’s office should be focusing on crime in New York instead. 

House Republicans have announced three of their witnesses at the hearing – all of them either victims of crime or stark critics of bail reforms in New York State pushed by Democrats. Whether those reforms contributed to an increase in crime in New York during the pandemic has been the subject of a fierce debate. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, the top-ranking congressional Republican in New York, is expected to attend. Though she is not a member of the Judiciary panel, discussions are underway about waiving her on to the committee to participate, per a committee aide. 

In a statement, Stefanik – a chief Trump ally in Congress who represents the North Country – confirmed her intention to be there, writing, “With New Yorkers continuing to feel unsafe and leaving the city and state in record numbers, I look forward to holding Democrats accountable for their failure to prosecute crimes and instead engage in illegal political witch-hunts against their political opponents.” 

On the Democratic side, sources confirmed to Spectrum News that the Judiciary Committee’s Democrats are working to get Rep. Dan Goldman waived onto the panel. News of Goldman's potential inclusion was first reported by Punchbowl News.

Goldman, a freshman Democrat who represents the district where the hearing is set to take place, is a former federal prosecutor who served as the lead counsel for House Democrats in the first impeachment trial against Trump. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is set to be in New York City on Monday to speak at the New York Stock Exchange. His office told Spectrum News that he is not expected to drop by the field hearing. 

Meanwhile, a source said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents Brooklyn, has been involved in crafting the Democratic response. 

Bragg and Jordan have clashed repeatedly over the Trump investigation. Jordan has demanded that Bragg testify before Congress about his investigation, a request Bragg's office rejected as "unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty." On Tuesday, Bragg sued Jordan in an effort to block him from what the district attorney charges as meddling in the ongoing criminal case.

Spectrum News' Joseph Konig contributed to this report.