Federal prosecutors in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) are increasingly opting to embarrass themselves in court rather than risk the wrath of the White House.
That's according to a Friday article by the New York Times' Glenn Thrush and Alan Feuer, who reported that the DOJ's recent string of public losses is seen as highly uncharacteristic of the federal government. One recent example is the DOJ failing to convince a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), just one week after a separate grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, declined to return an indictment.
"Federal grand juries almost never decline to bring an indictment once, much less twice. Such rejections, known as 'no true bills,' have been exceedingly rare, a misfire that often stigmatizes the prosecutors involved," Thrush and Feuer wrote. "They are becoming more common, and accepted, in a department where face-planting in court might be preferable to facing down the boss."
The same day Trump's DOJ struck out with the Alexandria grand jury, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that detained Maryland man Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was to be freed immediately, saying the government had no "lawful authority" to keep him in custody. The Trump administration had threatened to send Abrego Garcia to Liberia and Costa Rica, though never followed through on those threats while keeping Abrego Garcia in custody for more than four months.
Former U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick told the Times that Trump had done himself no favors by aggressively publicizing his efforts to strike back at his political enemies via indictments, which may have soured the public against him.
"I think many of these cases are nationalized for the public and there is a pushback on Trump and his targeting of individuals," Fishwick said. "This is a major shift."
The failures to indict James and keep Abrego Garcia in detention are only the most recent examples. In Washington D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has consistently failed to get grand juries to return indictments of local residents, including a man who threw a Subway sandwich at federal agents. Prosecutors in Chicago, Illinois have also failed to get grand juries to indict Chicagoans arrested as part of the administration's "Operation: Midway Blitz."
Click here to read the Times' report in its entirety (subscription required).