Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is launching an investigation into the charges filed against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) and the mayor of Newark, N.J., saying the moves appears to violate Justice Department policy.
McIver was charged last month after a scuffle with Department of Homeland Security officers outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility after they began to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D).
Alina Habba, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey and former personal attorney to President Trump, charged McIver with assaulting law enforcement, saying she used her forearms to push back against agents.
Habba’s office has already moved to dismiss the trespassing charges initially filed against Baraka, earning a reprimand from the judge in the case who cited an “apparent rush in this case, culminating … in the embarrassing retraction of charges.”
“Ms. Habba’s unprecedented charging decision is a blatant attempt to intimidate Members of Congress and to deter us from carrying out our constitutional oversight duties. It appears Ms. Habba brought these charges in violation of long-standing Department of Justice (DOJ) policies designed to prevent exactly this type of politically motivated abuse of prosecutorial power,” Raskin wrote.
Raskin fired off a series of questions about the charges brought against both McIver and Baraka.
That includes whether there was any contact with the Public Integrity Section of the DOJ.
“DOJ prosecutors must consult with the Public Integrity Section before initiating an investigation of Members of Congress and must seek the Section’s approval before bringing charges. 21 Reports suggest, however, that Ms. Habba did not,” Raskin wrote.
“The consultation requirement is designed to guard against a rampant Executive Branch weaponizing the vast apparatus of federal law enforcement against the President’s perceived enemies, or even the perception that a DOJ investigation or prosecution was motivated by improper political purpose. The Justice Manual is clear that approval from the Public Integrity Section is required before charging a Member of Congress with a crime based on actions taken in their official capacity.”
The Justice Department said it is considering removing the requirement that prosecutors first consult with the Public Integrity Section.
Raskin asks the DOJ whom Habba consulted before bringing charges, if she coordinated with Trump or any White House staff, and to turn over all communications regarding the charges.
For her part, McIver has denied any wrongdoing and noted she rejected a plea deal from Habba, saying it pushed her to “admit to doing something that I did not do.”
“I came there to do my job and conduct an oversight visit, and they wanted me to say something differently, and I’m not doing that. I’m not going to roll over and stop doing my job because they don’t want me to, or they want to neglect the fact that we needed to be in there to see what was going on and that detention center, and so, absolutely, no, I was not going to do that,” McIver said last month during an appearance on CNN.
