The Justice Department has more to worry about than the "stunning pattern" of grand juries pushing back against its political prosecutions of Donald Trump's critics and protesters.
Now it has to worry about trial juries standing in its path as well.
That's the view of MSNBC legal analyst Jordan Rubin, who today cited the DOJ's failure last week to make even a misdemeanor stand in its case of Sidney Reid in Washington, D.C.
"Grand jurors had declined to approve a felony indictment against her a shocking three times," Rubin wrote. "But instead of taking those serial rejections as a sign of serious problems with the case (a rare failure to get past even one grand jury should’ve done that), the DOJ in Jeanine Pirro’s office moved forward with a misdemeanor prosecution, which didn’t require grand jury approval.
Noting that Reid was acquitted of even the misdemeanor charge, Rubin wrote that "as time goes on, we’ll learn what trial jurors think of the politically motivated cases that make it that far."
Rubin also cited the similar situation of Sean Dunn, the Air Force veteran and former DOJ employee who famously tossed a sandwich at a Border Patrol agent during a recent protest. Dunn was also charged by the DOJ with a misdemeanor after it couldn't convince a grand jury to indict him for a felony.
Dunn has filed a motion to dismiss the misdemeanor assault charge based on vindictive and selective prosecution.
Rubin argues that "Powerful statements from Reid and her lawyers following the not guilty verdict frame the stakes in her case — and in Trump’s second term more broadly. She said the verdict 'shows that this administration and their peons are not able to invoke fear in all citizens.' Calling the president 'a crazy person,' she said she even felt sorry for the prosecutors, 'who must be burdened by Trump’s irrational and unfounded hatred for his fellow man.'”