D.C.: US Rep assaulted as House deep-sixes district crime bill

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

That is not the way anyone wants to start their morning, and thank God she’s okay.

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It had to be truly frightening. But it sure sounds as if Ms. Craig kept her wits about her and reacted swiftly when she was attacked.

…According to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital, Craig told police that she saw the male suspect “acting erratic” in the lobby of the building, “as if he was under the influence” of “an unknown substance.” Craig then said, “Good morning,” to the man before she went into the elevator, according to the report.

The report said the suspect also entered the elevator and then started doing pushups before punching Craig “on the chin area of her face” and grabbing her by the neck. She then threw her hot coffee at the suspect and escaped before officers arrived, the report said.

…Two officers canvassed the basement-level parking area of the building but did not find the suspect.

Cynically, most of us, upon reading the first reports coming in, were wondering how many priors the perp would be found to have if and when they caught him. That “revolving door” is a recurring problem in Washington, as it is elsewhere in progressively led cities.

As we’ve reported on a number of times here, the D.C. city council was preparing to make it much worse when their new social justice crime reform statute – the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 – took effect. Passed in November last year, Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the bill, but the council overrode it and there things stood – a done deal.

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On the 6th of this month, there was movement. The mayor proposed amendments to the bill, after having heard from D.C. residents and others that they were truly, truly unhappy with certain provisions. Mostly the ones like eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for most crimes, and lowering max sentences for crimes such as carjacking and robbery.

Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by Acting Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee, III to announce proposed amendments to the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022. At the press conference announcing the legislation, the Mayor made clear that while the community is united around the need to increase opportunity and address root causes of crime, residents are also seeking more accountability for those who commit crimes in DC.

…Over the past several months, residents and partners in the public safety and criminal justice community expressed concerns about some provisions in the updated code, including lower penalties for certain crimes

…Mayor Bowser’s proposed amendments seek to remove the provisions for which there remain divisions and concern within the public safety and criminal justice community and District residents and address the timeline for which the bill is scheduled to be implemented. The Revised Criminal Code Amendment Act of 2023 will:

Create opportunities for the public to provide input on policy changes around jury trials and expansion of the Second Look Act;

Restore penalties on crimes that the public has expressed significant concerns about in recent months; and

Allow sufficient time for training and data systems changes across the criminal justice system by updating the implementation date to January 1, 2027.

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Bowser may also have been forced into action prematurely because she heard the exit music starting softly in the background. The Congressional D.C. oversight orchestra was tuning up for a bravura Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 finale performance, having watched the District slide into chaos even before the ludicrous, criminal-friendly reforms became law.

Today, the conductor’s wand came down.

Plenty of Democrats joined the GOP in voting to crush it and another whacko bill the D.C. council had approved.

…The House voted in favor of two resolutions disapproving of the two D.C. bills: one that would allow noncitizens to vote in local D.C. elections; another marking a major revision of the city’s outdated criminal code, which has not been comprehensively updated since 1901. While the House Democratic whip urged Democrats to reject both resolutions, 42 Democrats joined Republicans to reject D.C. legislation allowing noncitizen voting and 31 joined Republicans to reject D.C.’s Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022.

Both resolutions do have to have Senate approval, but that doesn’t seem as if it’s going to be a problem, especially considering how many Dems crossed over in the House on both measures.

…Congressional staff expects that neither disapproval resolution will be subject to the Senate filibuster and will only need to pass with a simple majority. The Senate could also fast-track the criminal code disapproval resolution: Procedural rules for a disapproval resolution targeting the D.C. criminal code allow any single member of the Senate to call to bring it to the floor for a vote, rather than going through committee under normal procedures.

Democrats in Congress — and especially the House — have shown near unity in recent years in support of D.C. statehood, meaning an argument appealing to the District’s home rule usually holds sway among most in the caucus. But the political hot-button nature of the two pieces of legislation — coupled with Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s veto of the criminal code overhaul — raised the specter of defections among moderate Democrats. And without the Senate filibuster, just a few in the Senate would be enough for the disapproval resolutions to go to Biden’s desk.

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Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton have both introduced companion Senate resolutions – no Democratic sponsors yet – and no one’s quite sure where the geriatric balloon buster will come down. Last week he was babbling about statehood and “quit picking on D.C., man” but that was last week.

…Any resolutions would need to be approved by President Joe Biden, whose administration sent out a statement of policy earlier this week opposing both House resolutions. The administration said in a statement the measures are “clear examples of how the District of Columbia continues to be denied true self-governance and why it deserves statehood,” but did not explicitly say whether he would veto them.

The usual suspects are out complaining already, one step away from slinging “RACISTS.”

I have no doubt it’s coming (I’m sure if I recheck Twitter, it’s already there.). They also overlook the fact in this hysterical historical narrative rewriting that Congress has constitutional oversight of D.C., not that the Constitution has meant anything to any of them in quite a while.

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…Congress has oversight of D.C. and the final say on its laws and budget thanks to a provision in the Constitution. Thursday marks the first time since 2015 that a disapproval resolution targeting D.C. legislation has made it to the House floor, though it’s been roughly three decades since Congress has successfully used a disapproval resolution to overturn D.C. legislation; the resolutions must also be approved by the president.

But it is an inconvenient FACT, and the District might be better off if someone took a tad firmer hand for a while instead of indulging these flights of deadly fancy.

For the record, being a Minnesota Democrat, I’m not sure how Ms. Craig was planning on voting prior to her awful experience this morning, but she wound up a “yea.”

I would bet you money it was more like a “HAY-YULL, YEAH!”

Can’t say as I blame her. Reality checks are often unpleasant as all get out and this one could have turned out to be deadly.

I hope she heals ever so quickly both physically and mentally, and that they catch this freak post haste.

Probably a pipe dream, but I hope they nail him.

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