Rep. Tom Tiffany 'Asks Biden’s DOJ To Assist In Curbing Crime'

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07), along with six of his colleagues, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking him to assist, or pick up the slack, where rogue prosecutors have declined to prosecute crimes with a federal nexus. Specifically, the letter urges Attorney General Garland to make sure federal prosecutors are using their resources wisely to help combat crime, which continues to escalate in Democrat-run cities.

Last week, Congressman Tiffany and Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) attempted to bring their legislation, H.R. 7967, the Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act, to the House floor for consideration. However, House Democrats blocked consideration of their bill to hold rogue prosecutors accountable on a party-line vote.

“The refusal of soft-on-crime district attorneys and President Biden's Department of Justice to confront the crime wave and enforce the law has ripple effects across the country,” said Congressman Tiffany. “To get career criminals off our streets and secure our communities, we must enforce the existing laws that hold offenders accountable. That is not happening.”

Background:

Not surprisingly, these soft-on-crime efforts go hand in hand with the epidemic of lawlessness, soaring crime, and tragic outcomes, that we seem to see in news reports nearly every single day. Last year, at least 12 major Democrat-run cities, including Philadelphia, Portland, and Albuquerque, all broke annual homicide records.

While the trend of dismissing whole classes of crimes before arraignment dates back several years, it has intensified in recent years. One tragic example of this is the Waukesha Christmas parade attack, where despite a long history of arrests, 39-year-old Darrell Brooks was released on low bail and ended up killing six people and injuring more than 60 others. More recently, Rashaun Seaberry, a juvenile accused of murder, was released without bail. Less than a month after his release on a signature bond, he was charged in connection to another shooting that left a 19-year-old woman dead.

Instead of working to support the men and women of law enforcement and hold dangerous criminals accountable, the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress seem content with letting criminals off the hook.

Congressman Tiffany’s common-sense solution, the Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act, would require prosecutors to report how often they follow through on holding criminals charged with violent crimes, like murder, rape, arson, crimes involving illegal guns, and motor vehicle theft, accountable. The proposal would also mandate disclosures regarding how often prosecutors secure convictions, whether those charged were already on probation or parole, and how many offenders were released without bail.

However, following House Democrats’ blockage of this legislation, Congressman Tiffany is going straight to the source, the Department of Justice, to take action and instruct United States Attorneys to begin charging and prosecuting federal crimes that are being ignored by states.

Specifically, Congressman Tiffany’s letter requests the Department of Justice provide the below information for the past five years:

• The number of referrals made to U.S. Attorney’s offices for felon-in-possession cases;
• The number of indictments brought charging a defendant for being a felon-in possession;
• The disposition of felon-in-possession cases, including any cases where the § 922(g) charge was dismissed, any cases where a federal prosecutor supported a below guidelines sentence in a §922(g) case, and the ultimate sentence imposed where the prosecutor supported a below guidelines sentence;
• The number of referrals made to U.S. Attorney’s offices for an immigration-related criminal offense;
• The number of indictments brought charging a defendant with an immigration-related criminal offense;
• The disposition of immigration-related cases, including any cases where the immigration-related offense was dismissed, any cases where a federal prosecutor supported a below guidelines sentence in an immigration-related offense case, and the ultimate sentence imposed where the prosecutor supported a below guidelines sentence.

Signers of Rep. Tiffany’s letter include Reps. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Ben Cline (VA-06), Lauren Boebert (CO-03), and Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11).

The full text of Rep. Tiffany’s letter is available here.