Overview
- Legal reporting shows the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has secured far fewer convictions than normal, with multiple deadlocked trials and acquittals that lawyers described as 'embarrassing' for the office.
- A high-profile MS-13 prosecution of Moises Rivera-Luna failed to produce a conviction in at least two juries, and the office has scheduled another Rivera-Luna retrial in the coming weeks.
- Prosecutors dropped the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool charge after concluding damage came from contractor work, a decision that drew public rebuke from President Trump and reports he considered removing Jeanine Pirro.
- Observers quoted in the reporting said Washington juries are highly deliberative and may be skeptical of the administration, a dynamic that defense lawyers say helps explain jurors sending notes about being at an impasse.
- The pattern has prompted formal scrutiny, including a special federal grand jury in D.C. overseen by Steven Vandervelden, and it could affect leadership decisions, prosecutorial strategy, and the handling of upcoming federal trials.