Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, initiated an inquiry into the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro’s vengeful, failed prosecution of six lawmakers, all former national security officials, for reminding service members of their oath and obligation under the Constitution to follow federal law. The Ranking Members also demanded an internal investigatory office at the Department of Justice (DOJ) launch a formal investigation into Pirro’s misconduct.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the Ranking Members wrote, “The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizen speech against government censorship and retaliation. This protection is at its strongest when an elected official speaks on a matter of national importance: it is ‘the manifest function of the First Amendment in a representative government … that legislators be given the widest latitude to express their views on issues of policy.’” The Members continued, “All DOJ attorneys take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and are bound by the rules of professional conduct of states in which they are licensed and the courts before which they appear…We therefore request all documents related to this investigation, including records related to your conduct and the conduct of all DOJ personnel responsible for the investigation into Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Sen. Mark Kelly, Rep. Chris DeLuzio, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin.”
In addition to launching a congressional inquiry, the Members are calling for the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to immediately initiate an investigation into Ms. Pirro’s conduct, along with all DOJ personnel responsible for the investigation into the six lawmakers, and for OPR to inform them when the office has initiated the investigation and update them on the investigation’s progress and findings.
###