Columbia News

During a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) raised concerns about crime policies he described as "soft-on-crime," which he linked to organizations funded by George Soros. Schmitt questioned witnesses on the impact of these policies in major American cities and discussed lessons from efforts to reduce crime in Washington, D.C.

Schmitt referenced organizations such as the Vera Institute of Justice and the Tides Advocacy Fund, noting their association with Soros funding. He argued that these groups promote measures like cashless bail and diversion programs for young adults aged 18-25, which he said lead to higher recidivism rates and increased leniency for serious offenses.

Addressing Det. Gregg Pemberton, Chairman of the D.C. Police Union, Schmitt highlighted recent reductions in violent crime in Washington, D.C., asking what lessons could be applied elsewhere. Schmitt stated: “Mr. Pemberton, thank you for your service. I just want to ask you, could you just walk through — because the numbers don’t lie — in the District of Columbia, there’s been a reduction of 53% in homicides, 57% in robberies, 75% in carjackings. What lessons can be learned, sort of at scale in DC, in places like Kansas City, for example, that has a high crime rate and an apologist mayor and a prosecutor that doesn’t want to prosecute violent criminals?”

Pemberton responded: “That’s an excellent point. What our organization has been shouting for the past five years — since, I mentioned, that the rhetoric and the policy changed back in 2020 — is that you need to have the proper number of police officers, and they need to be able to have the tools and resources to go out into these communities and do their job — professionally, responsibly, constitutionally. If you do that, and you have a prosecutor that backs those officers, like we now do here in the District of Columbia, guess what? You can reduce crime in seven days. That’s what we saw in the District of Columbia. We saw federal agents surge in, we saw the National Guard taking post in these neighborhoods, and we saw a prosecutor who took all of our arrests seriously. Within the first week there was a remarkable night and day difference.”

Schmitt followed up: “And a morale boost, I’m sure, for your officers too, right? When there’s actually a police presence and prosecutions.” Pemberton replied: “Absolutely.”

The senator also questioned Gregory Jackson from Community Justice Action Fund (CJAF) regarding statements made by his organization about policing practices:

Senator Schmitt asked: “Mr. Jackson, you’re listed as the former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention... Is that correct?” Jackson answered: “Yes sir.”

Schmitt then read previous CJAF statements advocating divestment from policing efforts:

“In 2019 an op-ed... stated... ‘It is in this critical moment we’re finally saying firmly that we must divest in policing.’”

“In a 2020 letter... ‘We must divest from aggressive policing.’ [The letter] further stated ‘Public health approaches must be prioritized over policing to end gun violence’, and that ‘an anti-racist approach must always be a part of policymaking and advocacy on gun violence prevention’. Those were statements in 2019 and 2020..."

He continued by citing other CJAF comments linking law enforcement agencies with white nationalist agendas.

Concluding his remarks toward Jackson's organization’s affiliations with Soros-funded networks such as Tides Network—and its receipt of USAID funds—Schmitt said: “I just would point out that this organization [Community Justice Action Fund] that you’re an advisor of is part of the Tides Network... So if you want to understand why people are so committed to making sure USAID doesn’t fund these radical organizations some of these statements are exhibits A B C D through Z.”

No additional facts were provided for integration.