A legal watchdog filed bar complaints on Tuesday against U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and two of her subordinates, alleging they abused their prosecutorial powers in seeking to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video urging military members to resist unlawful orders.
The Legal Accountability Center filed the complaints in New York and Virginia, accusing Pirro, Carlton Davis, and Steven Vandervelden of violating ethical rules and pursuing “meritless” indictments against President Donald Trump’s “perceived political enemies,” according to the PBS NewsHour and other outlets.
The case centers on a November 2025 video featuring Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin and House members Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, and Maggie Goodlander—all with military or intelligence backgrounds. In the video, they told U.S. service members they could refuse orders they believed to be unlawful. Trump responded by calling the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” on social media and suggesting the lawmakers be prosecuted.
In February 2026, a grand jury in Washington refused to indict any of the six lawmakers. The refusal was extraordinarily rare, according to reporting from the PBS NewsHour, signaling that prosecutors had failed to meet the threshold for criminal charges. Pirro’s office subsequently dropped the case.
The complaint against Pirro states there was no legal basis for her office’s “patently improper effort” to secure an indictment. “The 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,” the complaint says, according to the Boston Globe.
Michael Teter, co-founder of the Legal Accountability Center, said in a statement that prosecutors wield enormous power and must exercise independent legal judgment rather than carry out a president’s political demands. The center has also filed complaints against other Trump administration officials, including Ed Martin Jr., Pirro’s predecessor as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
A Pattern of Controversial Cases
Pirro’s critics have pointed to other legally dubious cases her office has pursued. In August 2026, she dropped felony vandalism charges against David Hearn, a former Olympian, over alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Prosecutors determined the damage resulted from a botched installation, not vandalism, according to the New York Times. Trump had urged Pirro to pursue the case and criticized her decision to drop it, calling her response a “choke” on social media.
Pirro was Senate-confirmed in August 2025 and left her position as a Fox News host to become the top federal prosecutor for Washington. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to punish Senator Kelly for his participation in the video, but a federal judge blocked that censure and an appeals court review is pending, according to the Boston Globe and PBS reporting.
Sources
- PBS NewsHour — watchdog bar complaint filing details, Pirro and subordinates’ names, complaint language, grand jury refusal in February 2026
- Boston Globe — complaint allegations, Kelly censure attempt, Hegseth appeals court review
- The Hill — grand jury refusal details, video content and lawmakers named, Trump’s social media statements, Kelly and Crow statements
- New York Times — Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool case details and dismissal rationale
- Raw Story — Legal Accountability Center filing and Michael Teter statement
