'Partisan Attack:' Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney's Office Responds To DOJ Inquiry

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office issued a statement in response to the Department of Justice inquiry into its practices announced Wednesday, saying, “This investigation is only the latest example of the Trump Administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of using the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks.”

The Department of Justice announced a civil rights probe into the office of Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano on May 6, saying it was looking into whether the office persistently violated the constitutional rights of American citizens by taking into account immigration consequences when prosecuting undocumented offenders.

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“[The Justice Department’s] letter announcing the investigation distorts the office’s policy – which has been in place, publicly, for over 5 years – and happened to arrive just a week before Commonwealth Attorney Descano is set to testify before Congress. Our office’s policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of Fairfax County, and we will not be distracted from our mission of keeping this community safe and holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes,” the statement from Descano’s office read.

​​Descano and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid are scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration in a hearing titled “Fairfax County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies,” according to multiple reports.

Descano has already faced two early recall attempts. Criticism of his office escalated once more earlier this year after an undocumented migrant with a long criminal history was charged with the murder of a Fredericksburg woman at a bus stop. Fairfax County authorities and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have traded blame as to who should have ensured the suspect, Abdul Jalloh, was in custody or deported.

Descano’s office and Fairfax County generally have been regular targets of the Trump administration, which has retaliated over county school bathroom policies that allow students to use the bathroom corresponding to their declared gender and accused Fairfax schools of racial discrimination.

Descano and other prosecutors who oppose cash bail and support other progressive positions have frequently faced recall campaigns or other efforts to remove them from office. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Travis County Texas District Attorney José Garza and former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón are among current and past officials drawing attention from national right-wing organizations.