The mother of a New York City murder victim shouted down Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing on Monday, warning the lawmaker not to “insult my intelligence.”
The mother, Madeline Brame, was one of many witnesses to testify before the committee during Monday’s hearing highlighting the crime problem in Manhattan. Goldman attempted to use the time granted to him to question Brame to instead criticize the hearing itself, arguing it was a “coverup” for Republicans attempting to defend former President Donald Trump.
Goldman, who served as impeachment counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, sought to explain his view of the situation to Brame after other Democrats had stated that Republicans were using the witnesses as “props” to defend Trump.
“We’re not insulting you. Your experiences are devastating, but the problem is, is that this is a charade to cover up for an abuse of power. [Republicans] are going around incessantly, outside of this hearing, about Donald Trump, and the purpose of this hearing is to cover up for what they know to be an inappropriate investigation [into District Attorney Alvin Bragg],” Goldman said.
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“Can I respond to you, please?” Brame asked as Goldman attempted to move on.
“Not right now, because I only have 20 seconds, I’m sorry. But I, I do–” Goldman said.
“Don’t insult my intelligence,” Brame interjected as Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to maintain order. “You’re trying to insult me like I’m not aware of what’s going on here. I’m fully aware of what’s going on here, OK? That’s why I walked away from the plantation of the Democratic Party.”
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Brame had testified earlier about Bragg’s mishandling of her son’s murder case. Her son, Army Sgt. Hason Correa, was beaten and stabbed nine times by multiple people in 2018. The prosecution for the cases dragged on for more than four years, and Bragg ultimately removed the indictments against two of the suspects in favor of lesser charges. Two others ended up receiving life sentences.
Brame argued that Bragg’s office has only served to escalate the city’s crime problem, showing no “measurable results” in lowering the city’s violent crime rate.