James Carville labels charges against Democratic lawmaker over ICE clash a Trump ‘distraction’ from tanking economy – UK Times

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville claims that federal charges brought against U.S. Rep LaMonica McIver over an ICE altercation are an attempt by the Trump administration to divert the public’s attention from the state of the economy.

The Justice Department has accused McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, of using her forearms to slam into immigration officials outside an immigration detention center in her home state earlier this month. The alleged incident happened as officials attempted to arrest Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka earlier this month.

Officials charged her with two counts of assaulting federal employees, a Homeland Security Investigations agent and an ICE officer, who were carrying out their duties. If convicted, she can face up to eight years in prison.

“They’re trying to do everything they can to draw attention to immigration because the global economy is terrible,” Carville said on MSNBC’s The Beat. “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.”

He continued, criticizing the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” a proposed piece of budget legislation that is even facing opposition from some Republican lawmakers.

“He can’t get his bill through Congress,” he added. “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,” he told the show’s host Ari Melber.

McIver has said that she has already declined a plea agreement offered by federal prosecutors.

“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,” she told CNN on Tuesday. “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.”

Carville alleges that race was a factor in the department’s decision to arrest McIver.

“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,” he said, noting: “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.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem doubled down on the charges against the congresswoman during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“They can conduct oversight, but…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,” she claimed.

“We were accommodating that when those individuals showed up, and they decided instead to break in,” she added.