House Democrats reacted angrily to the announcement that the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey — Alina Habba, a former top aide and defense lawyer for President Donald Trump — will bring charges against Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver (N.J.) over a chaotic May 9 incident at a controversial ICE detention facility in Newark.
Habba announced Monday that she plans to charge McIver with assaulting federal officers during the protest, a dramatic move that ups the political stakes in the battle between Democrats and the Trump administration over immigration and Congress’ power to take on Trump over it.
McIver, plus Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, were at the Newark site when ICE agents went to arrest Baraka. McIver “forcefully attempted to protect Baraka both physically and verbally as he was led away,” according to the New Jersey Globe, which reported last week that the two-term lawmaker would likely be charged.
McIver denounced the charges as “purely political – they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.”
In a joint statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the rest of the Democratic leadership slammed Habba as well:
“The proceeding initiated by the so-called U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch,” the leaders said.
Habba countered that she tried to resolve the dispute without criminal charges – it’s not clear what this means – but McIver “has unfortunately declined.”
The Delaney Hall incident has become a focal point for both parties. McIver can be seen on video attempting to protect Baraka during his arrest. Habba has now dropped a misdemeanor charge against him. Despite the altercation, the three House members were later allowed to tour the facility as permitted under federal law.
DHS officials later accused the Democrats of “storming into a detention facility,” while McIver said ICE agents “shoved me, manhandled [Watson Coleman], and arrested [Baraka.]”
McIver has some constitutional protection under the Speech or Debate Clause from being charged with a crime while engaged in legitimate legislative activity. The New Jersey Globe reported that McIver has retained defense lawyers to handle the case, including Paul Fishman, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
There will also be an Ethics Committee investigation into McIver as required under House rules if a member is charged with a crime. Democrats can block anything from happening there.
We’ll see how Speaker Mike Johnson and top Republicans handle this. While some rank-and-file Republicans have called for McIver’s arrest, congressional leaders have to be concerned about what kind of precedent it would set.
Johnson and Jeffries haven’t discussed the incident, we’re told, although Democrats privately believe Johnson could’ve stopped any criminal charges if he wanted to.
