WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal magistrate judge on Thursday angrily accused top Justice Department prosecutors of trampling on the civil rights of people arrested during President Donald Trump's law-enforcement surge in the nation's capital.
Judge Zia Faruqui, a former federal prosecutor, said leaders of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office have tarnished its reputation with how they are handling the deluge of cases. He said Pirro’s office is routinely bringing cases that don’t belong in federal court and needlessly keeping people in jail for days while they evaluate charges.
“It's not fair to say they're losing credibility. We're past that now,” Faruqui said. He later added, “There's no credibility left.”
Pirro has been critical of Faruqui, one of four magistrates at the district court in Washington. On Thursday, she responded to Faruqui’s latest remarks by saying the judge “has repeatedly indicated his allegiance to those who violate the law and carry illegal guns.”
“This judge took an oath to follow the law, yet he has allowed his politics to consistently cloud his judgment and his requirement to follow the law,” she said in a statement posted on social media. “America voted for safe communities, law and order, and this judge is the antithesis of that.”
The clash between the judge and the top federal prosecutor for Washington marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing showdown with the federal judiciary. Trump has repeatedly attacked the courts and challenged their authority since he returned to office in January. But it’s rare for a prosecutor to publicly criticize a judge by name, as doing so could damage the office’s relationship with the federal bench.
The judge lambasted Pirro's office during a hearing at which he agreed to dismiss the federal case against a man accused of threatening to kill Trump while in police custody. The defendant, Edward Alexander Dana, spent more than a week in jail before a federal grand jury refused to indict him.
It is extraordinarily rare for a grand jury to balk at returning an indictment, but it has happened at least seven times in five cases since Trump's surge started nearly a month ago. Faruqui said it is ironic that "an occupying force is at the mercy of the occupants” serving on the grand juries.
Faruqui said there is no precedent for what is happening at the courthouse over the past few weeks. He said Trump administration officials are frequently touting the arrest figures on social media with seemingly no regard for how the arrests are affecting people's lives.
“Where are the stats on the people illegally detained?” he asked.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor Mulroe said prosecutors from Pirro’s office are working around the clock on the influx of new cases.
“You are busy because you all have created this mess,” he told Mulroe. “I’m not saying it’s your problem. It’s your office’s problem.”
Mulroe was the only representative of Pirro’s office who attended Thursday’s hearing. Faruqui questioned why Pirro or her top deputies “don’t have the dignity to come here” and defend their charging decisions.
“That’s what leaders do,” he said.
The White House says over 1,800 people have been arrested since the operation started Aug. 7. Over 40 cases have been filed in district court, which hears the most serious federal offenses, including assault, gun and drug charges.
Dana was jailed for approximately a week after his arrest on Aug. 17. A different judge ordered his release on Aug. 25. On Thursday, Pirro’s office opted to drop the federal case against Dana but charge him with misdemeanors, including destruction of property and attempted threats, in D.C. Superior Court.
Dana's attorney, assistant federal public defender Elizabeth Mullin, said prosecutors should have known that this case didn't belong in federal court.
“A 15-year-old would know,” she said. “It was obvious from the outset.”
Dana was arrested on suspicion of damaging a light fixture at a restaurant. An officer was driving Dana to a police station when he threatened to kill Trump, according to a Secret Service agent’s affidavit. Dana also told police that he was intoxicated that night. Mullin said Dana's "hyperbolic rambling" didn't amount to a criminal threat.
Faruqui ordered prosecutors to file a brief explaining why they didn't immediately inform him of its charging decisions in Dana's case. The judge apologized to Dana “on behalf of the court” and suggested that Pirro's office also owes Dana an apology.
Pirro said in an earlier statement that a grand jury’s refusal to indict somebody for threatening to kill the president “is the essence of a politicized jury.”
“The system here is broken on many levels,” she said. “Instead of the outrage that should be engendered by a specific threat to kill the president, the grand jury in D.C. refuses to even let the judicial process begin. Justice should not depend on politics.”
Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
