Exclusive — Stefanik Rips Goldman Ahead of Crime Hearing: He’s ‘Stumbled’ When It Comes to Far-Left Prosecutors

House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) had blistering words on Thursday for Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who is set to make an appearance on behalf of Democrats at a congressional hearing in Manhattan next week.

Stefanik pointed in an interview with Breitbart News to Goldman’s positions on bail reform and “radical far-left prosecutors,” saying Goldman “has stumbled” when it comes to both.

Stefanik, like Goldman, is also planning to waive into the Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday, which is titled “Victims of Violent Crime in Manhattan” and will center around “how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime,” according to a hearing notice.

Neither Stefanik nor Goldman are on the committee but participating in a hearing as a non-committee member because of, for instance, relevant ties to the hearing’s topic is not uncommon practice.

This hearing will take place in Goldman’s district, where he is likely to defend Bragg, whom he endorsed for district attorney in 2021.

While Stefanik’s plans, which were first reported in Punchbowl Thursday morning, followed Goldman’s, the New York Republican told Breitbart News she will not be attending to counter his appearance but rather to focus on victims of crime.

“I’m proud to be the only New Yorker in leadership in the majority, and my colleague across the aisle who is a freshman member has stumbled when it comes to his positions on bail reform, has stumbled when it comes to his positions on radical far-left prosecutors, so I’m there to talk about victims,” Stefanik said. “I’m there as Republican Conference chair and the senior-most New York Republican in the majority.”

Goldman, a former prosecutor, openly opposes cash bail, according to an interview published in the Jewish Telegraph Agency in August 2022.

Goldman says he does not agree “with the fundamental premise of [cash] bail, which is that people should not stay in jail because they can’t pay bail. … That clearly has a disparate impact on those who are poor, who are disproportionately people of color.”

His position on the matter appears to align with New York State’s infamous bail reform of 2020, which some, including Stefanik, have argued has contributed to the overall surge in violent crime that New York City has seen in the past couple of years.

In 2022, overall crime in New York City rose more than 23 percent, according to the NYPD.

Goldman has nevertheless fumed at the prospect of Republicans, led by Judiciary chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), probing crime on his home turf.

Republicans chose to hold the Manhattan hearing as a response to Bragg pursuing criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, which they believe Bragg has done for political, rather than sincere, reasons.

Both Goldman and Bragg, who have in common that they have each led historic cases against Trump in the impeachments against him and the recent indictment of him, respectively, were quick to condemn the hearing upon its announcement.

Goldman claimed without evidence that Jordan scheduled the hearing “at the behest of” Trump and said the chairman was “not welcome” in his district.

Bragg, who has been criticized for being “soft on crime” in part because of his controversial decision to lessen penalties for certain crimes when he took office, dismissed the hearing as a “political stunt.”

Republicans have arranged victims’ advocates to be their witnesses at the hearing, including a mother whose son was fatally stabbed and a Harlem bodega clerk who was once charged with murder over the death of someone who attacked him at work.

Stefanik, for her part, plans to zero in on victims of crimes that she says are a result of “the failure of Albany.”

“I always think it’s very important for victims to share their stories of the result of these radical district attorneys like Alvin Bragg, who refuse to prosecute violent crimes, and the failure of Albany when it comes to bail reform,” Stefanik said. “Most of these violent crimes are committed by criminals who are released back on the street over and over again because of the policies that Democrats in Albany put into place, so giving victims that voice is important.”

Stefanik, a staunch Trump supporter, also plans to make the case that Democrats are “going after their political opponents who have committed no crimes.”

She said, “Democrats want to ignore victims. Republicans are giving them a voice, and I’m also highlighting the hypocrisy of how politicized Democrats in New York are, going after their political opponents who have committed no crimes. Meanwhile, they’re refusing to prosecute criminals in New York State.”

Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.