Arlington’s commonwealth’s attorney is returning fire to the House Judiciary Committee for questioning her handling of an ongoing criminal investigation, accusing it of overstepping its authority.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has declined to provide numerous documents that Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requested regarding an investigation of a local activist critical of the Trump administration. Arguing that many of these documents are confidential, she suggested that the request is “an improper incursion” into Virginia’s sovereignty and her own authority over local cases.
“Your Letter treads into this territory, one very clearly reserved to the states and local authorities,” Dehghani-Tafti wrote in a letter shared with ARLnow. “It suggests that your inquiry is one beyond Congress’ appropriate oversight jurisdiction because any legislative inquiry ‘must be related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress.'”
Jordan had accused Dehghani-Tafti of “political bias” in her handling of a case where Virginia State Police seized a cell phone belonging to an activist following protests around the North Arlington home of Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy.
He requested a wide array of documents, including all case filings and various “documents and communications” between the commonwealth’s attorney’s office and Virginia State Police, the FBI, the activist’s counsel and the local activism group Arlington Neighbors United for Humanity.
The chairman also requested records related to Dehghani-Tafti’s “receipt and use of federal funds.”
“The appearance that you have allowed your political bias to influence an investigation involving a senior Trump Administration official gives rise to substantial federal concerns,” Jordan wrote last month.
In a response sent on Thanksgiving Day — the deadline listed in Jordan’s letter — Dehghani-Tafti argued that congressional committees aren’t empowered to interfere with state and local affairs, including how lawfully elected prosecutors approach their own cases.
“Your stated purposes fly in the face of one of the most important restrictions placed on Congress — to refrain from acting for the purposes of ‘law enforcement,'” Dehghani-Tafti wrote. “In this regard, Congress cannot act as a prosecutor and is not accorded ‘law enforcement’ powers.”
She added that non-public information on a pending criminal investigation is confidential under state law, and that her office is obliged “to protect the confidentiality of state law enforcement functions.”
Jordan’s letter stated that “pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee is authorized to conduct oversight of criminal justice matters and judicial proceedings.”
Reached for comment on Dehghani-Tafti’s letter, a spokesperson declined to provide details on how the House Judiciary Committee intends to respond.
“All options are on the table,” the spokesperson said.
The investigation in question involves an activist, Barbara Wien, who has been accused of engaging in a brief confrontation with Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, and distributing politically charged leaflets containing the family’s home address.
Dehghani-Tafti’s office secured significant limitations on a search warrant for Wien’s mobile device after learning that federal authorities including the FBI were involved in the case, noting concerns about how agencies might use information like messages and contacts on the phone. Jordan questioned this decision, suggesting that the prosecutor’s actions were politically motivated and disregarded the safety of Miller and his family.
“Your unmistakably partisan actions suggest that you are willing to not only ignore threats of political violence against those with whom you disagree, but will actively side with those making the threats,” Jordan wrote. “The Miller family deserves the same protections afforded to all Americans, particularly when it comes to feeling safe in their own home.”
Dehghani-Tafti has asserted that Virginia State Police omitted essential information when consulting with her office about the warrant to seize Wien’s phone.
While “our office was assured that the investigation was local and the purpose of the search was related to local charges only,” the prosecutor said that the Secret Service and FBI accompanied state authorities in serving the warrant. She added that state police had said they only “intended to review communications on the phone and not the entire contents of the phone.”
While Jordan’s initial letter asked Dehghani-Tafti for documents, it did not detail any specific consequences if she declined to provide them.
