Exclusive | Alina Habba defends felony charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver over chaotic Newark ICE detention center protest: Nothing to do with congressional oversight

Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba is defending filing felony charges against lefty New Jersey Rep.LaMonica McIver for the fracas at a Newark ICE detention center — telling The Post that McIver’s alleged assault of federal agents was beyond the pale.“This has nothing to do with congressional oversight, and it has nothing to do with politics.

It’s about respecting those who risk their lives to keep us safe,” said Habba, who was formerly President Trump’s personal lawyer.“This is not political, it’s the law.I didn’t create the law, my job is to enforce it.”She added that the charges show that her office is committed to supporting the federal agents who say McIver assaulted them.

“These charges make one thing abundantly clear: this administration will never back down from supporting law enforcement,” Habba said.“Our commitment is resolute — we back the blue.

I fully support congressional oversight, but I will never support violence or interfering with law enforcement.”McIver “slammed her forearm into the body” of one Homeland Security agent and “forcibly struck” an ICE agent during a protest at an ICE detention facility in Newark, according to the federal criminal complaint against her.The two-count felony charges, filed Monday in federal court in New Jersey, accuse McIver, 38, of using force to interfere with federal agents earlier this month during a protest that was joined by several other Democratic lawmakers.She faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of the charges.McIver has argued that she was using congressional oversight to enter the facility — but Habba, who announced the charges on Monday, said “no one is above the law” when it comes to assaulting cops.McIver, who has represented New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District since last September, slammed the charges as “purely political” and blamed the ICE agents at the scene for escalating the confrontation.She said the charges “mischaracteri...