Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat representing New York in Congress, has found himself facing accusations he’s been interfering with a federal criminal case over his political agenda against a law-enforcement nominee picked by President Donald Trump.
It is Jeffries who is the target of requests by multiple legal activists to the Ethics Committee for an investigation.
The development came about because he actively lobbied federal judges in the district to remove acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from her post there.
Habba was appointed temporarily while her nomination as a permanent replacement moves through the approval process, but she is allowed to stay as an acting official for only a few months unless the judges in the district approve.
Jeffries was enraged at Habba because she charged Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., with obstructing Homeland Security agents during an altercation at an immigration facility in Newark on May 9.
McIver is heading for trial in November.
The so-called U.S. Attorney in NJ maliciously indicted Congresswoman LaMonica McIver for doing her job.
Alina Habba is a woefully unqualified political hack who has to go.
She must be rejected by the Federal District Court judges who are considering whether to retain her.…
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) July 18, 2025
A report from Fox News explains Jeffries has made claims that Habba isn’t qualified because she indicted McIver “for doing her job.”
It was the Article III Project that wrote to the House Ethics committee with the explanation that Jeffries “improperly insert[ed] himself into a criminal proceeding.”
“This is clear corruption by House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries,” the charge said.
Jeffries discounted his interference in the case.
The Ethics Committee may or may not choose to act on Article III Project’s letter. The group did not file a formal complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), which would have been required to study the complaint before giving a formal recommendation to the Ethics Committee, the report explained.
Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Habba to the position in an acting capacity and her nomination for the post permanently has been delayed by Democrats in the Senate who want to attack and delay the Trump agenda.
Fifteen of the 17 judges in the district owe their jobs to Democrats.
“A House member – particularly the House Democratic leader – who disagrees with the merits of a pending criminal case abuses his official position when he attempts to strong-arm federal judges to corruptly prejudice the ongoing criminal proceeding by firing the U.S. attorney for the purely political reason of protecting a partisan House colleague,” charged the complaint.
McIver and two other members of Congress claimed to be doing “oversight” when they physically clashed with federal law enforcement officers.
WND reported McIver physically handled a federal agent at the time.
The situation is just a symptom, more or less, of a bigger agenda by the Democrats, according to constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University who has not only testified before Congress as an expert on the nation’s founding law, but has represented members in constitutional disputes in court.
He explained the “new defense” being used by Democrats, from city council to Congress, is that “their official duties include obstructing the official functions of the federal government.”
“The latest claimant of this license is Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), who was charged with assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers during a protest at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. McIver is shown on video forcing her way into an ICE facility and striking and shoving agents in her path,” he said.
He said officials were able to subdue the incursion quickly.
But the messaging from McIver was that she could do what for other citizens would be “trespass and assault” because of her “legislative oversight” privileges as a member of Congress.
Her comments were a reprise of what other Democrats already have demanded.
“Rep. Alexandria Ocacio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) declared ‘You lay a finger on someone – on Bonnie Watson Coleman or any of the representatives that were there – you lay a finger on them, we’re going to have a problem,’” the report noted.
Jeffries has “ominously warned the federal government that Democrats would bring down the house if it tried to charge McIver.”
He said, “It’s a red line. They know better than to go down that road.”
The fault in making the “oversight” claim is that the law does not allow even members of Congress to have unauthorized access to secure federal facilities. Members of Congress can subpoena the executive branch, or get a court order, but they “do not have immunity from criminal laws in unilaterally forcing their way into any federal office or agency.”