U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has instructed her prosecutors to maximize criminal charges against those arrested in the administration’s crackdown on street crime and charge them with stiffer federal crimes whenever possible, The New York Times reported.
Pirro and her deputy overseeing criminal cases held a staff meeting Monday to stress that there would be far less prosecutorial discretion to permit for charging lesser offenses in any case, those familiar with the remarks told The New York Times.
“In line with President [Donald] Trump’s directive to make D.C. safe, U.S. Attorney Pirro has made it clear that the old way of doing things is unacceptable,” Pirro spokesman Tim Lauer said. “She directed her staff to charge the highest crime that is supported by the law and the evidence.”
The new directive comes as hundreds of federal agents who have never done street patrols before are being deployed in Washington, according to The New York Times.
Due to this inexperience, Pirro and other Justice Department officials have been handing out cards to law enforcement officers and agents with a 24-hour-a-day phone number to call prosecutors in her office with any legal questions about how to handle suspects or arrests.
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