Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said that the federal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) are meant to be a distraction, arguing the Trump administration is attempting to divert the public’s attention from the economy and the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.”
“They’re trying to do everything they can to draw attention to immigration, because the global economy is terrible. The rates on 10-year bonds are going up. It’s soft everywhere. Companies are warning of lower earnings. And all of this is happening. He’s not done anything about any of this,” Carville said during his Tuesday appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat.”
“He can’t get his bill through Congress. So great. I got a great solution. Let’s go out and arrest a Black woman, and then that’ll solve everything, and that’ll have everybody talking about it,” the longtime operative told host Ari Melber.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) accused McIver of slamming “her forearms” into immigration authorities during a scuffle outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in New Jersey as officers tried to arrest Newark’s mayor Ras Baraka earlier this month.
The New Jersey Democrat was charged with two counts of assaulting federal employees who were carrying out their duties, one corresponding to a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent and the other of an ICE officer. The charge can carry up to eight years in prison if McIver is convicted.
McIver said the DOJ attempted to offer a plea agreement, which she declined.
“Well, the Justice Department and [interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey] Alina Habba wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do, and I was not going to do that once again. I came there to do my job and conduct an oversight visit, and they wanted me to say something differently, and I’m not doing that,” McIver said Tuesday on CNN.
Carville, who has previously criticized President Trump’s handling of the economy, argued that race played a part in the New Jersey Democrat being charged.
“For me, and this is my personal opinion. I think they went after her, and I think her race has something to do with it. I’ll just flat out say that,” Carville said on Tuesday.
“Let me be very clear. I don’t have any proof, but if you ask me, do I think that’s what happened? Yes, I think that’s what happened. I think if it was a white Congress person they would not have arrested them,” the veteran operative added later.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the charges earlier this week.
“They can conduct oversight, but senator, what I would ask is that they understand that that doesn’t mean they could show up with a mob with the intention to break in and assault law enforcement officers. That’s what happened at Delaney Hall last week,” Noem said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
“We were accommodating that when those individuals showed up, and they decided instead to break in,” Noem added.
