WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A legal watchdog says it filed bar complaints on Tuesday accusing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and two lieutenants of violating their ethical duties in seeking to with federal crimes for appearing that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.
The Legal Accountability Center’s , filed in New York and Virginia, claim Pirro and her subordinates, and , abused their prosecutorial powers to seek 鈥渕eritless鈥� indictments against President Donald Trump’s 鈥減erceived political enemies.鈥�
A spokesperson for Pirro’s Washington-based office didn’t immediately comment on the allegations.
In February, a grand jury in Washington refused to indict Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and four House Democrats for urging U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and reject orders they believe to be unlawful. All six lawmakers previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies. Trump accused them of sedition 鈥減unishable by DEATH鈥� in a social media post.
A grand jury’s refusal to hand up an indictment is extraordinarily rare, but it has become increasingly common in Washington during Trump’s second term. Pirro’s critics have accused her of pursuing other legally dubious and politically motivated cases at the Republican president’s behest, such as the against a former Olympian who was accused of defacing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The center has filed complaints against , including , Pirro鈥檚 predecessor as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin has been in Trump鈥檚 campaign to use the Justice Department to prosecute his political opponents.
In its complaint against Pirro, the center asks bar officials to investigate whether she and her colleagues violated rules of professional conduct for attorneys 鈥� and to 鈥減ursue appropriate discipline鈥� against them. Its complaint against Pirro says there was no legal basis for her office’s 鈥減atently improper effort鈥� to secure an indictment against the six lawmakers.
鈥淭he only purpose could have been political animus and a desire to intimidate perceived enemies of the federal government and the President, who personally criticized the lawmakers’ video as seditious and punishable by death,鈥� the complaint says.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has tried to , a former Navy pilot representing Arizona, for participating in the video. Kelly sued in federal court to block the censure from Hegseth. A district court judge . Hegseth has asked an to review the decision.
The center filed its complaint against Pirro and Vandervelden with a based in White Plains, New York. In New York, the state Supreme Court鈥檚 appellate division governs ethical complaints against attorneys. The center filed its complaint against Davis with the Virginia State Bar.
鈥淧rosecutors have enormous power, and with that power comes an obligation to exercise independent legal judgment rather than use the criminal justice system to carry out a president鈥檚 political demands,鈥� the center鈥檚 co-founder, Michael Teter, said in a statement.
Pirro, who served as a county prosecutor and judge in New York, left her Fox News hosting job to become the top federal prosecutor for Washington last year.
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