Soros-backed prosecutor defends Virginia AG nominee’s texts as ‘fake outrage’

An elected Virginia prosecutor whose campaigns received large sums of money from groups linked to Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros downplayed the violent rhetoric of Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones as “fake outrage.”

Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti — whose office was previously embroiled in controversy over how it prosecuted a merchant for shooting burglars — criticized media coverage of Jones’ texts contemplating the murder of a former top Republican official.

Dehghani-Tafti criticized Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, arguing he should act independently of the governor’s office and instead expressing support for Jones.

His post came in response to an article published on the social media platform Bluesky by Virginia’s left-leaning political blog, Blue Virginia.

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Parisa Dehghani-Tafti speaks at an event at the Center for American Progress about Virginia’s newly elected progressive prosecutors, December 17, 2019. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Referring to the official Hampton Roads document, Blue Virginia had written that the Virginian-Pilot’s lead story and main opinion piece wrongly focused on Jones.

“Nothing about the government shutdown or the decimation of the CDC or a million other important stories,” she wrote, before adding: “Your [quotes sic] the “liberal media” at work.

Dehghani-Tafti wrote that Miyares’ re-election would place him “in a position of obstruction and blocking.” [Abigail] Spanberger” – further suggesting that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ defeat in the gubernatorial race is a fait accompli.

“If we fall into the trap of false outrage and fear abandoning Jay, Miyares as AG will remain Trump’s right-hand man in Richmond,” she warned.

Dehghani-Tafti’s campaigns since 2019 have received $325,000 from the Soros-funded political action committee, Democracy PAC II, and $190,000 from another related organization called Justice and Public Safety PAC.

The second largest donor during that period was Alexandria attorney Christopher RK Leibig, who gave $10,900, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Soros Fund Management and Democracy PAC (split from Democracy PAC II) are the largest multimillion-dollar donors to the Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to OpenSecrets.

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While Arlington County has been praised for choosing to prosecute serial sex offender Richard Kenneth Cox — a key figure in the election controversies over transgender bathrooms and the crime wave — over the reaction of Fairfax County’s liberal leaders — Dehghani-Tafti has also seen his own controversies bubble up over the years.

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In 2020, Dehghani-Tafti faced backlash for pursuing a Shirlington smoke shop employee who shot burglars after being awakened in the store’s back room. Hamzeh Abushariah shot an intruder in the back as several youths broke in around 4:50 a.m., according to reports.

Store owner Jowan Zuber defended Abushariah, telling WMAL radio that surveillance footage showed a suspect “rushed toward Hamzeh when he opened the door…what would you do?” Prosecutors argued that the “castle doctrine” did not apply because the store was not his home and charged Abushariah with intentional wounding and a firearm offense.

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The prosecution argued that Aboushariah had other options, such as fleeing or barricading himself, according to reports. A judge initially denied bail at the request of prosecutors, but a jury later acquitted him. Dehghani-Tafti told the ABC Washington affiliate that she “cannot ethically discuss an ongoing investigation,” adding that there was evidence to support the accusations and urging the public “not to rush to judgment.”

Arlington County police later charged two juveniles involved in the burglary.

Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II have collectively invested more than $42 million in the 2022 races alone, according to FactCheck.org.