U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s failed attempt to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers has been described as “stunning” by a former prosecutor in the D.C. office, according to a new report.
A grand jury recently rejected federal prosecutors’ attempt to secure an indictment against a group of Democratic lawmakers who made a video urging members of the military and intelligence communities to refuse illegal orders, according to several media outlets, including The New York Times and Politico.
The video, which was posted in November, enraged President Donald Trump and his allies. On Truth Social, Trump accused the lawmakers of “seditious behavior” and called for their arrests. At one point, he even wrote: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., which Pirro leads, reportedly pursued the indictment. Now, a former prosecutor who once worked in the Washington office tells Politico Magazine it’s “stunning” for a grand jury to reject an indictment completely.
“The rules are skewed so heavily in favor of the prosecutor that it’s almost comical. But the public is essentially saying, ‘We do not trust you. We are skeptical of you,’” they said.
The former prosecutor described the current Washington office as a “hollowed-out core of increasingly inexperienced and overworked D.C. [assistant U.S. attorneys] spending their time reviewing the [Jeffrey] Epstein files and wondering what their ‘red line’ for resignation is.”
“I think good cases aren’t being brought because people are either afraid or lack bandwidth. D.C. had one of the most prestigious U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country, and to see it become a shadow of itself in a year is sad,” the former prosecutor told Politico Magazine.
Pirro told Politico Magazine her responsibility is to “follow the law.”
“Our system of justice allows grand juries and trial juries to review evidence and make their own decisions, that’s their function, that’s the way the system works,” she said. “All victims matter to us. We are about the law, and we are singularly focused; the passions of others, political and otherwise are irrelevant.”
The Independent has contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., for comment.
After the failed indictment attempt was revealed, Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video spoke out against the Trump administration.
Senator Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Navy Captain who participated in the video, said the “most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.” Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who was also in the video, said she hopes the grand jury’s rejection “ends this politicized investigation for good.”
This isn’t the first time Pirro’s office has failed to secure a high-profile indictment.
Last year, her office tried and failed to bring a felony charge against a man accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent. The case received nationwide attention, and the man was quickly dubbed “Sandwich Guy.”
The charge was downgraded, and a jury later found him not guilty of misdemeanor assault.
