Rep. Nadler: GOP should condemn detention of aide at Manhattan office
New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday called on the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to condemn the brief detention of a Nadler aide by federal authorities at his lower Manhattan district office last week amid a protest against President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, Nadler demanded Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, stand up for the congressional staffer who was handcuffed Wednesday during protests at the Varick St. building that houses both the Nadler office and an immigration courthouse.
'We call on you, as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, to condemn this aggressive affront to the separation of powers and the safety of members of Congress, our staff, and our constituents,' the letter said.
Jordan didn't immediately respond.
The Department of Homeland Security said the Nadler aide, who was never arrested, was briefly detained as part of a wider security check to protect federal employees in the building during the protest.
But Democrats say the detention is part of an aggressive policy by the Trump administration to squelch public opposition to its plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
'These types of intimidation tactics are completely unwarranted and cannot be tolerated,' the lawmakers wrote to Jordan. 'The decision to enter a congressional office and detain a congressional staff member demonstrates a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries.'
Nadler, who was the Judiciary chairman until this year, has been irate over the incident since it happened. He accused DHS of 'lying' about it, especially a claim that the female staffer was 'harboring rioters.'
Along with congressional action, he's calling for a probe into what he considers an abuse of power to target opponents of the Trump administration, but Democrats believe that is unlikely to happen.
'They barged in … and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs,' Nadler told CNN on Monday. 'She was obviously traumatized.'
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