Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, is demanding that his Republican counterpart, Chairman Jim Jordan, investigate an incident in which a Department of Homeland Security agent handcuffed one of Rep. Jerry Nadler’s staffers at his Manhattan office.
Raskin and Nadler sent the letter to Jordan on Tuesday, demanding that he “condemn this aggressive affront to the separation of powers and the safety of Members of Congress, our staff, and our constituents.” They also asked him to call DHS Secretary Kristi Noem before the committee to ask questions about the incident.
DHS agents handcuffed the staffer last week, which was first reported by the Gothamist. Nadler’s New York office is within a federal building that also houses an immigration court office. Nearly two dozen demonstrators were arrested hours after the standoff in Nadler’s office because NYPD said they blocked traffic outside the building, according to the Gothamist.
Nadler, a House Judiciary Committee member, told CNN on Monday that agents had “barged in” and “pushed” one of his aides — “a very petite young woman.” Nadler has insisted that Congress investigate, and Raskin joining him in the letter shows an escalation in how Democrats are responding to the incident.
Jordan’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a video of the incident published by The Gothamist, a DHS police officer is seen handcuffing a crying staffer. Another staffer asks an officer for a warrant, and the officer accuses the aides of “harboring rioters in the office.”
“Let me see what’s in here,” the officer says, before an aide allows the officer inside. The handcuffed aide, who was not arrested, continues audibly crying.
“She was obviously traumatized,” Nadler told CNN on Monday, arguing that executive branch law enforcement “had no right” to enter his office without a warrant.
The DHS issued a public statement on Monday, stating that it had sent Federal Protective Service officers to conduct a “security check” because of the nearby protests.
“FPS officers were concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office and went to the location to ensure the safety and well-being of those present,” DHS posted on Monday.
“Officers identified themselves and explained their intent to conduct a security check, however, one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office. The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check,” the statement continues, adding that “all were released without further incident.”
Raskin and Nadler refute DHS’ claims that officers were concerned about the safety of congressional aides in the building.
“The video that has been released shows them handcuffing a staffer, demanding access to non-public areas of Rep. Nadler’s office, and never once asking about the safety and security of his staff,” they said in the letter.
Nadler and Raskin said DHS operated with “a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries” and was “part of a broader pattern by President Donald J. Trump and DHS of using unlawful, chaotic and reckless tactics in communities across America.”
“The time is now to halt the use of these illegitimate tactics and to ensure that DHS complies with the law and with the norms of common human decency,” the letter concludes.
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Emily Kennard is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.