BROWN: So, we wanna talk about abuse of power, huh? Well, let me start here. President Trump’s only expertise on crime is committing it, not preventing it; enabling it, not ending it; and covering it up, not cleaning it up. He is a convicted felon. He has illegally frozen federal funding. He has assaulted the rule of law at every turn. He has consistently violated constitutionally protected due process rights, and he has unleashed a corporate agenda to enrich himself and his wealthy donors.

Right now, as we sit here, Trump is bending over backwards to protect Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker who preyed on children, and blocking the release of the Epstein files to shield criminals from accountability. In the last 10 months alone, he has pardoned countless white-collar fraudsters who ripped off the American people—often conveniently after they cozied up to him.

And let’s not forget, Trump pardoned every single person charged or convicted in the January insurrection. That included 172 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement. It included dozens of repeat offenders, people with prior convictions for rape, manslaughter, and sexual abuse of a minor. It also included at least 10 individuals who have already been re-arrested for new crimes.

So, spare us. Spare us the talk of law and order because under Trump, that only means lawlessness for his friends and punishment for everyone else.

Now let me be clear: I care deeply about public safety in my district and in every district across America. Every person deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, at their job, and at their school. And if I may, there is some good news. Violent crime has been consistently decreasing across America. Yes, we have more work to do, but we also know what works to keep it that way.

So, if you are really serious about public safety, let’s increase funding for violence prevention programs. Let’s pass common sense gun safety bills. And let’s provide additional federal resources to our local partners to recruit and train local law enforcement.

But what has this administration done instead? Rolled back gun safety reforms, gutted DOJ programs tasked with addressing violent crime, and blocked funding to local law enforcement and community violence prevention agencies like the one you served, Mr. Jackson.

Earlier this year, Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance—a local violence prevention organization—had its community violence prevention grant funding frozen by this administration. Mr. Jackson, I know you cannot speak to this specific grant, but can you talk about the importance of grants funded through the bipartisan Safer Communities Act and how freezes like this impact public safety?

JACKSON: Well, we know—from Cleveland Peacemakers to Advanced Peace to Safe Streets Baltimore to Life Camp in New York City—that these organizations that are doing violence intervention work are saving lives every day. Every study we’ve seen that focuses on how impactful community violence intervention has been has shown promise.

But this Trump administration hasn’t stopped at terminating violence intervention programs. They also terminated $1 billion in youth mental health resources that we know can help our youth who are in crisis—before a school shooting, before a suicide attempt, before any violent harm.

They’ve also made major cuts to the ATF. We know the ATF now has lost two-thirds of its inspectors, so they don’t even have the capacity to inspect gun stores to determine whether or not they’re violating the law. The administration also reversed the zero tolerance policy for gun dealers, where if they violate the law, they lose their license.

Even the Department of Justice website invites previously violating gun stores to come back and get their licenses again.

So, he’s not only defunding programs that we know are preventing violence—programs that are working with youth, working in schools, and working in homes—he’s also stripped, dismantled, and defunded federal law enforcement efforts to keep guns out of our communities.

BROWN: Thank you so much. Instead of funding proven public safety solutions, my Republican colleagues want to pull political stunts like weaponizing the National Guard against the American people.

Let’s be clear: that only sidelines local law enforcement, sows chaos, and distracts from real emergencies. So yes, it’s political theater, but worse—it’s dangerous political theater that puts communities more at risk, not less.
https://crooksandliars.com/2025/09/dem-lawmaker-rains-down-fire-trump