Manhattan DA, Jim Jordan clash over murder rates in Ohio, N.Y. after Trump indictment

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday took a swipe at U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, saying the conservative lawmaker should be focused on violent crime in his own backyard rather than 500 miles away.

"If Chairman Jordan truly cared about public safety, he could take a short drive to Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron or Toledo in his home state, instead of using taxpayer dollars to travel hundreds of miles out of his way," they said.

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee ― which Jordan chairs ― on Monday said it plans to hold a hearing in Manhattan next week on what it calls "pro-crime, anti-victim policies" of Bragg. According to the FOX News commentator Sean Hannity, the committee will hear from "victims" of Bragg's policies.

"Alvin Bragg is going after President Trump when you have all kinds of things happening in his town that are harmful to families who live there," Jordan said on Hannity's show Monday night.

Bragg, who became Manhattan’s first Black district attorney in 2022, has been the target of GOP attacks since he inherited a yearslong investigation into hush money payments made on former President Donald Trump's behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign. Those attacks only intensified after a grand jury empaneled by Bragg returned an indictment against Trump, making him the first current or former American president to be charged with a crime.

In their statement on Monday, the aide to Bragg said Manhattan had a lower murder rate than Columbus, which is near the district Jordan represents.

In 2022, Columbus had more homicides per 100,000 people (15.4) than New York City (5.1). Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of last year, 140 people were killed in Ohio's capital city, compared to 433 in New York City, which has at least eight times as many people as Columbus.

Jordan on Tuesday appeared to be trying to amplify a narrative that crime in New York City is rampant, retweeting a news story about a 17-year-old being shot in the hip in East Harlem Saturday night. The teenager, according to the local station who reported on their condition, is expected to survive.

An email seeking comment from Jordan's spokesperson had not been returned by Tuesday afternoon, but the Ohio Republican Party tweeted that Jordan shouldn't be in the crosshairs for urban crime.

"In case anyone is confused, Democrats @JoyceBeatty, @MayorGinther and @ColumbusCouncil have consistently supported soft on crime policies that contribute to rampant crime in Columbus," the party tweeted. "Out of state liberals attacking their Democrat colleagues is only highlighting their stupidity."

Bragg on Tuesday sued Jordan in federal court. The move is intended to bar Jordan and his Republican colleagues from enforcing a subpoena sent to Mark F. Pomerantz, who was once a leader of the district attorney’s Trump investigation, the New York Times reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@monroetrombly

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Manhattan DA to Jim Jordan: Focus on violent crime in Ohio