Republican council members in New York City are fed up with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his soft-on-crime policies.
Violent crimes in NYC make headlines on almost a daily basis, yet conviction rates in the Big Apple are down, criminals are receiving downgraded charges, and, despite what New York Governor Kathy Hochul would have the nation believe, many New Yorkers are afraid to leave their homes or travel on the subway.
According to New York City Councilman Joe Borelli, “New Yorkers are learning you get what you deserve.”
(Video: Fox News)
Appearing Monday on “Fox & Friends First,” Borelli blamed not just Bragg for the state of his city, but also the city’s voters.
“As long as someone like Alvin Bragg is there, New York City will never be as safe as it was when Rudy Giuliani and then Mike Bloomberg and even part of Bill de Blasio’s term,” he stated.
“They overwhelmingly elected this guy, Alvin Bragg, who promised on day one to do exactly what he was doing,” he said of New Yorkers. “He’s not lying, he’s not hiding, he’s not shameful of how he wants to treat this office and New Yorkers elected it…”
Borelli also laid into Manhattan voters for overwhelmingly supporting Hochul over Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin, who made crime the cornerstone of his campaign and vowed to “get rid” of Bragg once and for all.
“We are in this situation where Manhattan citizens are causing this problem,” he stated.
Borelli is under no delusions, however, regarding the voting habits of his fellow New Yorkers.
“We’ve always had lenient and progressive prosecutors in New York. We’re a progressive city,” he acknowledged. “The difference is, they used to use discretion and extenuating circumstances to find reasons to be lenient rather than a policy without even considering the facts.”
It’s a frustrating sentiment shared by New York City Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who appeared later on Monday on “Fox & Friends.”
(Video: Fox News)
“This is a district attorney who, day one in his memorandum, promised to downgrade serious crimes to misdemeanors,” she told co-host Ainsley Earhardt. “Quite frankly, I have no idea what this guy is doing prosecuting crime. He should be working for Legal Aid.”
“There’s no introspection that’s been done on part of the Democrats, on the part of this district attorney,” Vernikov said. “He keeps doing what he’s doing, and we keep living in Gotham City.”
It appears many of Manhattan’s woes simply do not top Bragg’s priority list.
As American Wire reported, he’s too concerned with former President Donald Trump and the “hush money” he allegedly gave to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Bragg’s office “has moved to jump-start its criminal investigation into Donald J. Trump… seeking to breathe new life into an inquiry that once seemed to have reached a dead end,” according to The New York Times.
“The district attorney’s office first examined the payment to the actress, Stormy Daniels, years ago before changing direction to scrutinize Mr. Trump’s broader business practices,” The Times explains. “But Mr. Bragg and some of his deputies have recently indicated to associates, supporters and at least one lawyer involved in the matter that they are newly optimistic about building a case against Mr. Trump, the people said.”
While prosecuting Trump may make Bragg feel better about the world he lives in, it won’t do a thing for struggling New Yorkers who fear being accosted by criminals released back on the streets to wreak more havoc upon them.
The blatantly politically-motivated attempt to resurrect the Daniels case is nothing short of shocking to Michael van der Veen, a lawyer for the Trump Organization.
“I really don’t believe that they’re going back and conducting these investigations, and if there’s any truth to it, it would show poor judgment,” he stated. “The millions of taxpayer dollars they’ve spent on countless investigations, it’s a big waste of time and money.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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