Judiciary Witnesses Expose Manipulated Crime Data, Anti-Victim Judges and Harmful Soft-on-Crime Policies in Democrat-Run Cities

Judiciary Witnesses Expose Manipulated Crime Data, Anti-Victim Judges and Harmful Soft-on-Crime Policies in Democrat-Run Cities

WASHINGTON - In response to questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), witnesses at today's hearing - including the grandmother of a victim of violent crime, a local policeman, federal officers and a state senator - shared their experiences with crime in Democrat-led cities.

The witnesses provided shocking insights, testifying about police officers being pushed to reduce felonies to misdemeanors to keep crime numbers low, violent criminals being released immediately after their arrest, judges doling out light sentences for murderers and lawful gunowners being scrutinized more heavily than actual criminals.

Grassley questioned the following witnesses:

• Forlesia Cook, D.C. native and grandmother of Maty William McMillian, Jr.
• Gregg Pemberton, Chairman of the D.C. Police Union
• Christopher Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration
• Peter Marketos, Acting Associate Director for Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service
• The Honorable Brent Taylor, Tennessee State Senator for District 31

Grassley's opening statement is available HERE.

Video and excerpts of Grassley's questions follow.

VIDEO

On the manipulation of Washington, D.C. crime data:

Grassley: "Critics claim the Trump Administration didn't need to mobilize the National Guard in D.C because D.C. crime decreased by 35 percent in 2024. You've suggested that statistic was falsely inflated. In a House Oversight Committee, D.C. Chairman Mendelson said you were lying. Is the 35 percent statistic inflated? … Do you think this is a common problem with crime statistics?"

Pemberton: "The Internal Affairs Division at the Metropolitan Police Department had publicly announced they were investigating command staff officials for manipulating crime data. The accusation was that they were going into police databases and changing felonies to misdemeanors to keep crime numbers down.

"Do I believe that crime data was inflated? Yes… Our members report to [the D.C. Police Union] quite often… that when officers respond to the scene of a crime, and they're investigating what they believe is a felony, inevitably some management official will contact them, either by arriving on the scene or by phone, and direct them or sometimes even order them to take a report for lesser offenses - typically misdemeanors - to keep those crime stats down.

"The reporting that crime went down 35 percent in 2024, and then another 25 percent in the first six months of 2025 - I don't think those numbers are accurate at all."

On the expansion of soft-on-crime policies in major U.S. cities:

Grassley: "Mr. Goumenis, you've been in law enforcement for 30 years working in areas with progressive prosecutors and soft-on-crime policies. You even served in the local police department in Norfolk Virginia, which now has a Soros-funded prosecutor. How have soft-on-crime policies and progressive prosecutors impacted investigations you've worked on?"

Goumenis: "Since approximately 2020, law enforcement has begun to move away from proactive policing… to more of a reactive way of policing…. Lawmakers, prosecutors and even police officials passed policies and procedures limiting patrol officers' ability to engage in proactive policing… There became a practice of releasing criminals immediately after an arrest rather than keeping them incarcerated. Legislators followed suit by passing cashless bail or pushing for people to be released on personal recognizance bonds regardless of the crime committed. This practice has allowed for a revolving door of criminals in and out of the justice system in prisons. Incarcerations have been shortened. Sentences have been reduced. Criminals have become emboldened. Criminals no longer fear arrest, convictions [or] incarcerations.

"The D.C. Superior Court routinely releases criminals on personal recognizance bonds shortly after they've been arrested. As I stated earlier, most the time they're released before my agents even finish processing evidence."

On progressive judges favoring criminals over victims:

Grassley: "Ms. Cook, in your opening statement, you testified about the murder of your grandson, Marty. Marty's murderer was eventually caught and sentenced. You read an impact statement at his sentencing. Please explain what the judge said after you read your statement. Do you feel justice was served?"

Cook: "We read our impact statements, and let me tell you, Marty was so loved in my family, we had at least 30 impact statements. After we read them, [the judge] said to us, 'Thank you for your impact statements.' She looks over at the killer, she looks over at him and she says… 'Is there anything [you'd] like to say? I know you had a stressful day, after listening to all of that.'

"No, we did not receive justice. He was given, concurrently, with the time that he was charged with guns and drugs, 10 years concurrently. So, he had already done four, now how many years does that mean? He'll get five years of probation or on parole? So how many years does he actually do in jail? This is a heinous murder that he committed."

On the ineffectiveness of increased firearm regulations when addressing violent crime:

Grassley: "Many on the left have pushed for further gun regulations to combat the violent crime we are seeing in these soft-on-crime cities. What are your thoughts on gun ownership? In your opinion, are more regulations needed to keep our communities safe?"

Taylor: "What citizens in Memphis are fearful of are the guns that are on the streets [with] people that shouldn't have them… this picture here, this is a group of young men in a convenience store posing with long guns and handguns, so that they can have a picture for social media. It's these types of pictures that I want to try to stress, because they don't have these guns because we don't have enough regulations. They have these guns because they don't follow the law.

"We can pass all the gun laws you want, but criminals are criminals by nature. We've had that problem since Cain slew Abel with a rock. We don't need to continue to put restrictions on law-abiding citizens who just simply want to protect themselves in their homes."

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