Military attorneys are being sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District as prosecutors look to add some extra legal muscle amid President Trump’s federal crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday that 20 Judge Advocate Generals from the Department of Defense will join the prosecutor’s office next week.
It’s unclear how long the assignment will last, but the JAG lawyers are expected to handle misdemeanor civilian cases in the District.
“The assignment of 20 JAGs to my office is further proof of President Trump’s commitment to fighting and reducing crime in the District,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement.
The JAGs will begin training next week, according to NBC News, which first reported the development.
A Defense Department spokesperson said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office submitted a request for assistance to the Pentagon.
“Updates will be shared at the appropriate time, after decisions have been made,” the spokesperson said.
JAGs usually ensure military procedures comply with the law and offer legal advice to soldiers, but are now being used to help fill gaps in the District’s short-staffed U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ms. Pirro told Fox News this month that her office is down 90 prosecutors as well as 60 investigators and paralegals. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District is the largest in the nation, and has the unique role of handling both federal and major local cases.
The JAGs provide some much-needed help amid hundreds of arrests made during Mr. Trump’s surge of federal agents throughout the city.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday that authorities have tallied 630 arrests and seized close to 90 illegal guns in the 10 days since Mr. Trump commandeered the Metropolitan Police Department.
The range of charges for those who have been arrested includes homicide, robbery and drug trafficking.
A large portion of the federal arrests have been immigration-related.
On Wednesday, D.C. police and immigration agents tackled and handcuffed a man on the National Mall during a traffic stop. Social media videos showed the man yelling, in Spanish, that he’s “not a criminal, I work here, I want to be with my family.”
The footage went viral among liberal social media accounts until the Trump administration published the man’s criminal history.
The White House identified the man as Mexican national David Perez-Teofani, who had entered the country illegally three times, already had a final deportation order against him, and was charged in Fairfax County with sexually assaulting a minor under 13.
While D.C. leaders have disputed Mr. Trump’s federal intervention by citing police statistics showing a 30-year low in violence, the president has called into question the reliability of the data.
He also argued the District still has one of the highest murder and car theft rates in the nation.
Mr. Trump’s crime emergency can only last for another 20 days. Extending it would require Congressional approval, which is unlikely because that would need Democratic support.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.