Taxpayers’ money has flowed to a George Soros-backed organization that defends illegal immigrants and works with prosecutors to advocate for fewer prosecutions and lesser jail sentences, the Senate’s senior Republican, Charles E. Grassley, charged in a new report.
The Vera Institute of Justice collected nearly $7 million in Justice Department contract money in 2022 and 2023, joining tens of millions of dollars from left-leaning foundations, including Mr. Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Iowa senator said.
Vera has supported defund-the-police efforts and works with local prosecutors to push for diversionary agreements instead of criminal convictions and jail time.
Mr. Grassley said that means taxpayers were, in effect, paying for soft-on-crime policies.
“Vera’s policies aren’t criminal justice reform. A revolving door of no consequences doesn’t make anyone safer or rehabilitated,” he said.
A spokesperson for Vera didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Grassley’s report comes after the Justice Department moved in April to cut more than 360 grants it said didn’t meet the Trump administration’s goals. The cuts were prodded by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Organizations that had funds cut had 30 days to show that the money was not going toward liberal causes.
Mr. Grassley said his report was meant to push back on criticism of the Justice Department and expose just what the money was being spent on.
He said Vera partnered with left-leaning local prosecutors in New York, Virginia, Georgia, Wisconsin, Missouri and Massachusetts.
“Many of them gave Vera space in their office and nearly unfettered access to their case files. They allowed Vera to redesign their prosecutor offices around Soros’ progressive vision,” the senator said. “Guided by Vera, these prosecutors failed their communities. The sad stories of their failures played out in the courtroom, where rape victims and families who lost loved ones to violence never saw an ounce of justice.”
He pointed to Virginia’s Fairfax County, where the Commonwealth Attorney’s office has made a policy of cutting immigrants a break to try to prevent their crimes from triggering deportation.
Mr. Grassley said that in St. Louis, Vera worked with the circuit attorney as she expanded diversionary programs, lessened bail demands, dismissed more than 9,000 cases and refused to prosecute 90% of reported crimes.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
