The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, overseen by Representative Jim Jordan, a known supporter of Donald Trump, is set to conduct a hearing in New York City, titled "Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan." This session aims to scrutinize Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies, which the committee claims, have escalated violent crime and endangered New York City residents.
Bragg's office, however, has dismissed Jordan's hearing as a mere political diversion, citing NYPD data that indicates a decline in certain types of crime in Manhattan as of April 2, compared to the same period the previous year.
The true focus of Jordan's hearing is not crime prevention, but rather, providing support for Trump, who was recently indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on 34 felony charges. The charges are linked to an investigation into a hush-money payment to an adult film actress, and Trump is also facing criminal investigations in other jurisdictions for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Bragg took legal action against Jordan and his committee last week, accusing them of launching a blatant campaign to intimidate and undermine his office's investigation and prosecution of Trump by demanding confidential documents and testimony.
While Jordan's committee is engrossed in discrediting Trump's investigation, they seem to be ignoring recent explosive reports by ProPublica about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' financial ties with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. This is despite the fact that the House Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over issues related to federal court justice administration, a category that these revelations about Thomas fall into.
In early April, it was revealed that Crow had been providing Thomas and his wife, Ginni, with lavish vacations on his yacht and private jet to exotic destinations like Indonesia and New Zealand for many years. This information was previously undisclosed to the public.
More recently, ProPublica reported that Thomas did not disclose a 2014 real estate deal involving the sale of three properties he and his family owned in Savannah, Georgia, to Crow. One of Crow’s companies purchased the properties for $133,363. A federal disclosure law enacted after the Watergate scandal mandates Supreme Court justices and other officials to publicly disclose details of most real estate sales over $1,000.
The House Judiciary Committee has traditionally dealt with issues like those involving Thomas. In fact, the committee is often where federal judge investigations and impeachments begin.
However, the Judiciary Committee has not issued any statements or tweets expressing concern over Thomas. Instead, their Twitter feed is filled with complaints about C-SPAN's refusal to cover the upcoming New York hearing.
Jordan's use of his committee to aid Trump is not surprising. The House January 6 committee’s report identified Jordan as a significant participant in Trump's attempt to overturn the election. The committee even subpoenaed Jordan to testify, but he declined to cooperate.
In contrast, the Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans to hold a hearing to restore confidence in the Supreme Court's ethical standards following the reports on Thomas. Additionally, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Hank Johnson have asked for a referral of Thomas to the US attorney general for potential Ethics in Government Act 1978 violations.
The House Judiciary Committee, often referred to as the House of Representatives' legal counsel, seems to have become more of a legal counsel for Trump under Jordan's leadership. The most troubling aspect is that taxpayers are footing the bill for Jordan's efforts on Trump's behalf.