House Panel Investigates Nonprofits for Alleged Efforts to Influence D.C. Jurors
A congressional committee is investigating two Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organizations over allegations they are training prospective jurors to conceal their political views during jury selection and to acquit criminal defendants for ideological reasons.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote in a recent letter to Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams that they are suspected of encouraging local residents to vote for acquittal when they are on juries even when the evidence supports conviction.
He is seeking documents, communications and information about funding and outside partners involved in the groups’ jury education sessions.
In letters to the organizations, Comer alleged that their joint training initiative encouraged prospective jurors to subvert legal proceedings in the District of Columbia.
“Jury nullification training courses undermine the rule of law, the safety of D.C.’s residents, and erode public trust in the justice system,” Comer wrote in letters to the organizations.
Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams are political advocacy organizations that seek to assist underprivileged persons subjected to injustices.
If true, the allegations against them could be evidence of obstruction of justice and jury tampering. Both are criminal charges.
The groups’ initiative, known as the Juror Information Project, says in advertisements for their training sessions that they seek to protect underprivileged communities that organizers say are disproportionately targeted by the criminal legal system.
The advertisement said that jurors could “use that role to protect our people, especially those with marginalized identities.”
Comer’s letter to Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams said, “At an August 12 training, Qiana Johnson, who serves on the Board of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and is a ‘conductor of legal defense’ for the organization, told attendees, ‘[y]ou have this superpower, and that superpower is you are able to nullify that goddamn jury,’” wrote Chairman Comer. “In conducting these trainings, your organization is blatantly facilitating the violation of the constitutional right to an impartial jury and undermining the rule of law in the District.”
Johnson was recently elected to serve as court clerk for Prince George’s County, Md. She declined to comment Monday.
The Sixth Amendment says in relevant part, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury…”
The organizations claim their training sessions are intended for public education, not an attack on the legal system.
A recent Instagram post from the organizations cited three examples of what appear to be juries defying prosecutors. In one of them, “Grand juries declined to indict people charged with assaulting police under questionable federal charges,” the post said.
It added, “Jurors in D.C. are pushing back, showing that we do not have to rubber stamp prosecutions that target and criminalize our communities and disrupt systemic bias from inside the courtroom.”
Jury nullification occurs when jurors acquit defendants only because they disagree with the law or because their political views differ from what prosecutors want to accomplish.
Comer said that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro recently expressed concern that biased people “infiltrated” Washington’s juries to prevent convictions.
Comer’s letter implied a threat of government intervention, saying, “These shocking reports underscore the necessity of congressional oversight to protect against an assault targeting constitutional rights and processes.”
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Trump Announces $25 Million Whistleblower Program Against Government Fraud
President Donald Trump last week announced a $25 million federal program offering whistleblowers financial rewards for reporting suspected fraud in government programs.
The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, known as WHIP, expands the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-fraud campaign led by Vice President JD Vance.
Under the program, people who submit tips through the Justice Department’s fraud reporting website that lead to fraud convictions or federal enforcement actions could qualify for rewards.
Trump said during an Oval Office announcement that investigators have found “tremendous amounts of fraud in various states and it's nothing by comparison to what they're looking at.”
His announcement created confusion about the amount of money whistleblowers could earn.
The president said the rewards could amount to at least one percent of the fraud uncovered.
“It's a lot of money,” Trump said. “And if it's $10 billion, $200 billion, $400 billion, we're giving a one percent commission to that person.”
The Justice Department’s published program terms said it is offering awards of up to $30,000 under WHIP.
The Justice Department would have discretion on the amount of the payments but only after criminal charges are filed, the published program said.
Vance said the program grew out of his conversation with Trump about how to encourage Americans to help investigators identify fraud.
“The president has said it must stop. It is stopping,” Vance said. “And if you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards.”
Appearing with the president during the Oval Office announcement was Nick Shirley, a conservative YouTube influencer whose video series last year uncovered widespread fraud in Minnesota by purported day care centers that receive federal grants.
Shirley’s videos showed empty buildings that claimed to be the offices for the day care centers, despite the fact state inspectors had previously reported the centers were operating as required.
Some of the persons who received the taxpayer money were later found to be living lavish lifestyles. One of them, Fahima Mahamud, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Shirley’s reports prompted Trump to launch an anti-fraud campaign, called the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vance. Trump presented Shirley with a $10,000 check as a reward.
A Justice Department statement said the WHIP program is directed primarily at federal health care offenses and fraud involving certain government benefits. They include programs administered by the departments of Agriculture, Labor, and Health and Human Services.
Whistleblowers would be required to provide original evidence of the fraud and to cooperate with investigators.
More revelations of fraud against the government were announced last week by Vance and other federal officials.
Vance said his federal task force has identified more than $42 million in suspected fraud against the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He said that some people “steal from the mouths of hungry children in order to enrich themselves.”
Federal prosecutors have indicted suspects in eight states since Sept. 1, including two men accused of using retail food stores to process thousands of transactions with stolen benefit transfer account information. The two men allegedly caused about $29.7 million in government losses.
In a separate case, federal authorities in Los Angeles announced a crackdown last week on alleged fraud involving millions of dollars intended to help homeless people. Three of the accused persons allegedly misused about $12 million in government aid for personal expenses.
“Any misuse of taxpayer funds meant to help unhoused Angelenos should be met with the full force of the law,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
FBI Investigates Suspicious Powder in Mailings to Congress and State Election Offices
Federal law enforcement agencies are investigating a series of suspicious letters and packages sent to congressional offices and state election officials across the country.
Some of them contain white powder and notes with threatening language, prompting heightened security measures less than three weeks before the November midterm elections.
At least one of the notes warned of “civil war” after November’s midterm elections.
The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating the mailings. They reported that at least 22 congressional offices and 26 state election officials had received the letters.
Laboratory testing has found no hazardous material in the packages. Investigators have not yet publicly identified the substances.
The threatening messages and broad geographic distribution are raising concerns about an organized attempt to intimidate elected officials and to disrupt election administration.
The investigation includes suspicious mail sent to the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Alex Padilla of California. A few of the letters were sent to Republicans.
Some letters were intercepted by postal officials or congressional staff members before reaching their intended recipients.
Padilla’s office confirmed that a suspicious letter had been intercepted before delivery.
“My office is in touch with the FBI, U.S. Postal Service and Senate security officials following a suspicious package the U.S. Postal Service intercepted before reaching our office,” Padilla said in a statement. “Thankfully, no threat was posed to my staff or our office.”
The threatening letters received by state election offices in Louisiana and Oklahoma prompted evacuations.
In Louisiana, an employee who opened a letter at the secretary of state's office was taken to an emergency room as a precaution but was not injured. Law enforcement found no evidence of harmful substances.
Wisconsin election officials also reported that testing found the powder in a suspicious letter was not hazardous.
“Let this be very clear: this incident will not shake us,” Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe said.
The National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors issued a joint statement condemning threats against election workers.
“Those who administer our elections should never fear for their safety while carrying out their essential duties,” the organizations said.
The current incidents bear similarities to suspicious mailings in 2023 and 2024, when election offices in several states received packages containing white powder. Many of the mailings in the earlier incidents contained threatening messages. Some tested positive for traces of fentanyl.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Gun Rights Debate Inflamed by Arrests for Illegal Trafficking
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced last week that federal authorities charged five people in an alleged firearms trafficking operation that moved guns from North Carolina to the District of Columbia in the latest incident to incite arguments over gun rights.
She made the announcement while some members of Congress are calling for tougher gun control laws after a deadly elementary school shooting this month in Oregon.
The 13-count indictment alleges the defendants trafficked approximately 40 firearms to customers in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Washington and Grenada.
“A conveyor belt of weapons feeding violence up the East Coast, putting illegal guns onto our streets. Today that conveyor belt has stopped,” Pirro said.
Two of the defendants mentioned by Pirro hold special police officer licenses in Washington. The licenses allow them to legally carry guns.
The Justice Department is following a strategy of tougher gun law enforcement to resolve any greater risks of illegal gun possession.
“Gun-running networks do not respect state lines, and neither does our determination to stop them,” Pirro said.
The defendants named in the arrest warrants are Brian “B” Agee, 40; Arnise Lecresha Young, 33; Frank “Fatboy” Rayvone Harris, 38; Antonique Whitaker, 34; and Christian Shedetta Atkinson, 30, according to the indictment. They face charges such as firearms trafficking and making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a statement, “If you are making sham purchases to illegally run guns in Eastern North Carolina, we will find you and prosecute you.”
The Justice Department’s pledge of tough gun enforcement is not stopping some public outcries about easy access to firearms by violent persons.
The most recent incident to inflame the rhetoric occurred this month at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Three students and a teacher were killed before an armed bystander fatally shot the teenage gunman, who was a former student at the school.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for legislative action, saying, “The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools.”
His plea was met by condemnation from gun rights advocates.
“Democrats are shamefully weaponizing this tragedy in Oregon to advance their political agenda on gun control,” said Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
D.C. Appeals Court Rejects Proposal to Expand Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals this month rejected proposed changes to professional conduct rules that would have expanded rights of nonlawyers to hold financial interests in law firms.
The ruling preserves existing restrictions on law firm ownership and the sharing of legal fees.
The court’s order said it was “not persuaded that a strong case has been made for the need for the proposed changes.”
The ruling reiterated the belief that business profits should never be a first priority in representing clients.
The proposed amendments to Rules 5.3, 5.4 and 5.7 were submitted by the D.C. Bar, which argued that changes were needed to help traditional law firms compete with businesses offering integrated legal and related professional services.
The court’s order said the proposal would have permitted lawyers to “cooperate and share fees with nonlawyers in a firm where its ‘principal’ rather than ‘sole’ purpose is the provision of legal services to clients.”
The existing rules already allow a limited form of nonlawyer participation in D.C. law firms for routine services that do not require court appearances.
The Bar argued that maintaining the existing rules could put its members at a disadvantage in a changing legal services market that allows nonlawyers to perform some high demand legal services.
The court left open the possibility of revisiting the issue. “We note that this is a rapidly evolving area, and the court’s decision at the present time is not meant to indicate that the court would be unwilling to reconsider this issue if circumstances change,” the order said.
The court’s order was filed Oct. 15 in matter No. M297-26.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.