Ex-GOP staffer and Pirro aide tried, failed to indict Democrats over social media video
Source: msn/NBC News
12h
The two Justice Department officials who tried and failed to convince a federal grand jury to indict six sitting members of Congress over their speech in a social media video are a former longtime House Republican staffer and an associate of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannie Pirro, two people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.
Carlton Davis and Steven Vandervelden are both listed as "special counsel" at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. They work in the front office along with Pirro and her principal assistant U.S. attorney, special counsels for policy and legislative affairs and director of external affairs. The pair sought to indict Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan on Tuesday.
As NBC News first reported, the duo was unable to convince a single grand juror that they met the low probable cause threshold to indict any of the six Democrats featured in a social media video advising members of the military and intelligence communities not to obey illegal orders. No career federal prosecutors were involved in the case, a sharp departure from Justice Department norms.
Bloomberg Law first reported on their identities. Pirro praised their work in a statement to NBC News. Over the course of more than a decade, Davis worked as a Republican staffer on several committees, including the House Select Committee on Benghazi. He worked under Rep. Darrell Issa of California, former Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, former Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. James Comer of Kentucky.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ex-gop-staffer-and-pirro-aide-tried-failed-to-indict-democrats-over-social-media-video/ar-AA1WePrc
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