A witness pushed back on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) after he suggested that Fairfax County, Virginia, had a policy of not prosecuting undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.
During a Judiciary hearing on Thursday, Jordan alleged that the Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano had a policy of not prosecuting immigrants.
“Mr. Descano, why did you change your website?” Jordan demanded.
“Sir, first of all, let me address what you had said earlier,” Descano said.
“No, no, you answered the questions we asked,” Jordan snapped, raising his voice to a shout. “I asked a simple question. Why did you change your website last month?”
“Well, sir, your statements that we’re not, don’t want to prosecute guys, is absolutely false,” the witness stated.
“Are you saying what the sheriff wrote me is wrong?” Jordan replied. “She said the Commonwealth’s attorney, that’s you, chose not to prosecute Mr. Morales Ortiz on December 16th, and they had to release him. They had to do their job because you wouldn’t prosecute.”
“And I’m asking you, why did you change your website?” the lawmaker asked again.
“Well, do you not want me to talk to you about the actual case?” Descano wondered.
“Why did you change your website?” Jordan pressed.
For his part, Descano pointed out that his campaign website did not represent county policy.
“This is your campaign website where you said our office will take immigration consequences into account when making charging and pleading decisions!” Jordan shouted. “Immigration consequences were certainly part of the game here!”
“They absolutely were not,” the witness insisted. “You are assuming something that is not, that is in fact untrue because you are misrepresenting my policies. My policies do not say that we do not prosecute people.”
Jordan, however, seemed obsessed with Descano’s campaign website.
“That’s not my policy,” the witness repeated. “As I told you, sir, that is a campaign statement that I made before I was Commonwealth’s Attorney.”
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