Lawyers Launch Tracker to Expose DOJ's Alleged Abuse of Power
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) unveiled a publicly accessible digital platform enabling attorneys and citizens alike to examine controversial, irregular, or failed prosecution attempts carried out by the Justice Department during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term.
Built and maintained on a pro bono basis by a coalition of legal professionals, the tracker spotlights a series of high-profile departmental failures. Its geographic mapping function charts a growing list of cases in which grand juries refused to authorize indictments the department had sought against Trump administration critics, Democratic officeholders, or protesters.
One entry that has drawn particular attention involves the so-called "sandwich thrower" case — in which a Washington, DC grand jury declined to indict a man charged with hurling a sandwich at a federal agent in 2025.
The platform is designed as a shared resource for defense lawyers across the country, inviting submissions of relevant cases and offering insight drawn from documented precedents.
"What has been happening is so unusual and different that I felt that it needed to be brought to the public's attention," said Steven Salky, a DC-based attorney helping to oversee the initiative.
"I thought that this was a good way to help defense lawyers -- particularly federal defenders -- defend cases," Salky added.
NACDL President Andrew Birrell of Minneapolis struck a sharper tone in formally announcing the tool.
"The Bill of Rights wasn't written to be a polite suggestion; it was written to be a shield against tyranny," Birrell declared.
"What we are seeing in courtrooms from the Midwest to the coasts is a fundamental, righteous rejection of the idea that criminal law can be used as a tool for political retribution," he continued. "Jurors are seeing through these 'novel' and transparently thin theories. They are reminding this government that the people -- not the prosecutors -- hold the ultimate power in our justice system."
The tracker further documents cases in which the Justice Department stands accused of engaging in "weaponized forum shopping" — strategically selecting jurisdictions perceived as more favorable to secure indictments.
One such case centers on efforts to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, for which the department reportedly convened grand juries in three separate Virginia venues: Alexandria, Richmond, and Norfolk. Those locations are displayed on the platform's searchable national map, with Virginia sites prominently flagged.
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