Washington Federal Prosecutors Face Surge in Grand Jury Rejections

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., are experiencing an unprecedented surge of grand jury rejections, known as no true bills. This trend is particularly evident in cases involving political opponents of President Donald Trump or initiatives related to voter fraud and immigration. In a two-week period, prosecutors failed to secure indictments in at least three cases, including two attempts to charge individuals for voting in multiple jurisdictions during the 2024 election.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney in Washington, has defended her aggressive prosecutorial approach despite these failures. The list of high-profile targets who avoided indictment includes Democratic lawmakers Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew G. McCabe, and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Prosecutors also failed to secure indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James in Virginia.

To bypass grand juries, some prosecutors have turned to unorthodox methods such as criminal complaints. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui recently condemned this practice, accusing prosecutors of making an end run around the grand jury. In response to the trend, Chief Judge James E. Boasberg has instructed grand jury foremen to alert the court whenever an indictment is rejected to track the phenomenon.