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LetMyPeopleVote

(174,290 posts) Thu Dec 11, 2025, 03:48 PM Dec 11

Chicago grand jurors continue stunning streak of rejecting Trump DOJ indictments

Source: Deadline Legal Blog

One of the most remarkable stories of President Donald Trump’s second term is the series of cases in which grand juries have declined to approve felony indictments presented by the Justice Department. Even one such rejection is rare, but they’ve been piling up this year in cases alleging assaults on federal officers in connection with the administration’s immigration enforcement.

A new example comes from Chicago, where a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday granted the DOJ’s motion to dismiss charges against comedy club manager Nathan Griffin. The government had accused him of assaulting an agent in October. According to the now-dismissed complaint, Griffin had tried to close a car door on an agent and later said, “I didn’t assault anybody. … Shutting a door isn’t a f—ing crime.”

The grand jury seemed to agree. The judge’s order noted that the government’s dismissal motion was prompted by the grand jury’s refusal to indict Griffin.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that now “at least three people who have faced federal charges tied to Operation Midway Blitz have been cleared by grand jurors,” with charges dropped against 13 people overall and no cases having led to convictions.

The Chicago news follows yet another failed DOJ outing last week in Virginia, where a grand jury rejected the government’s attempt to revive fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James. Her initial charges were dismissed, along with former FBI Director James Comey’s, because the Trump-installed prosecutor in that Virginia district was illegally appointed.

The DOJ has been pushing forward in the face of grand jury rejections. In the case of Sidney Reid, for example, federal prosecutors struck out in the Washington, D.C., grand jury a whopping three times before reducing the case to a misdemeanor — which doesn’t require grand jury approval — and then losing that case at trial.

Read more: https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/chicago-grand-jurors-continue-stunning-streak-of-rejecting-trump-doj-indictments

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Highlight:

Chicago grand jurors continue stunning streak of rejecting Trump DOJ indictments (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Dec 11 OP

Trump's ham sandwich has botulism. C_U_L8R Dec 11 #1

I think the DOJ has never heard of "the city of big shoulders" viva la Dec 11 #2

Pirro in one month (September) in DC underpants Dec 11 #3

Deadline Legal Blog-Trump DOJ again fails to obtain indictment from grand jury against Letitia James LetMyPeopleVote Dec 12 #4

C_U_L8R

(48,794 posts)

1. Trump's ham sandwich has botulism.

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Dec 11, 2025, 03:54 PM

Dec 11

So much failing.

viva la

(4,464 posts)

2. I think the DOJ has never heard of "the city of big shoulders"

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Dec 11, 2025, 04:14 PM

Dec 11

Don't mess with Chicagoans.

underpants

(194,588 posts)

3. Pirro in one month (September) in DC

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Thu Dec 11, 2025, 04:37 PM

Dec 11

Judge says US Attorney Pirro's office has dismissed 11 felony cases over the past month (September)

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/this-creates-some-real-concerns-judge-says-us-attorney-pirros-office-has-dismissed-11-felony-cases-over-the-past-month-matthew-sharbaugh-pichon-nguyen/65-7b122562-072d-4067-8c6c-4e87ad0421d4

LetMyPeopleVote

(174,290 posts)

4. Deadline Legal Blog-Trump DOJ again fails to obtain indictment from grand jury against Letitia James

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Original post)

Fri Dec 12, 2025, 12:25 PM

Dec 12

The serial rejections join a stunning pattern of grand jury refusals in Donald Trump's second term.

NEW: Trump DOJ again fails to obtain indictment from grand jury against Letitia James www.ms.now/deadline-whi...
— MS NOW (@ms.now) 2025-12-11T21:01:03.474Z

https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/letitia-james-trump-doj-no-indictment

The Trump Justice Department has again failed to get a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, with a grand jury declining Thursday to return charges, according to two sources familiar with the presentation.

The failure follows another grand jury rejection last Thursday and a dismissal the week before that of James’ charges on the grounds that the prosecutor behind them, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. The dismissal left open the opportunity to bring new charges with a lawful prosecutor.

In a statement, James’ lawyer Abbe Lowell said, “For the second time in seven days, the Department of Justice has failed in its clear attempt to fulfill President Trump’s political vendetta against Attorney General James.”

He said the “unprecedented rejection makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day. Career prosecutors who knew better refused to bring it, and now two different grand juries in two different cities have refused to allow these baseless charges to be brought. In addition, a federal judge threw out the first indictment, pointing to the illegal appointment of a prosecutor put in place to carry out the President’s revenge. This case already has been a stain on this Department’s reputation and raises troubling questions about its integrity. Any further attempt to revive these discredited charges would be a mockery of our system of justice.”....

This isn’t the first case where the Trump DOJ has pressed forward despite grand jury resistance. In the case of Sidney Reid in Washington, the DOJ failed a whopping three times to obtain a felony indictment before reducing the case to a misdemeanor — and then losing that case at trial. A D.C. jury similarly acquitted sandwich thrower Sean Dunn of a misdemeanor after grand jurors declined to approve a felony indictment against him.

The administration had said it would appeal the Nov. 24 ruling by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie that rejected Halligan’s appointment and dismissed the charges against James and former FBI director James Comey. MS NOW previously reported on DOJ’s plan to seek another indictment of James, as well as the DOJ potentially seeking new charges against Comey, too.

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