The Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach, or FAFO, was formed by two George Soros-funded prosecutors, Philadelphia's Larry Krasner and Mary Moriarty of Hennepin County, Minn. The group aims to "hold federal officials accountable when they exceed their lawful authority" and has already begun to take action against federal immigration agents. However, the fact that FAFO's operations are fully funded by outside donors, whose identities are kept secret, has raised "stunning concerns about impartiality" among legal experts.
Rachel Paulose, managing attorney at the Upper Midwest Law Center, said that the arrangement "seems vindictive and contrary to basic notions of fairness." She added that it could raise constitutional issues of equal protection and due process under the federal constitution, and certainly under state constitutions, depending on the jurisdiction. Paulose also pointed out that the outside funders may have "an interest in impacting the evidence and the manner in which the evidence is presented," which could further compromise the integrity of the prosecution.
John Hinderaker, president of the Minnesota-based think tank Center of the American Experiment, called the arrangement "a terribly corrupt situation" where "law enforcement is available to the highest bidder in any direction." He emphasized that this is not a situation that should be tolerated, and that it should be exposed and fought against.
FAFO's founders, Krasner and Moriarty, have a history of disrupting the Trump administration's immigration policies. Moriarty, for instance, has said that her office does not "work with ICE or cooperate with them." Another founding member, Fairfax County prosecutor Steve Descano, is under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly giving illegal immigrants "preferential treatment" through a policy requiring his staff to consider immigration consequences when making charging decisions and plea deals.
FAFO has already begun to make good on its promises, with Moriarty charging an ICE agent with second-degree assault and suing the Trump administration over access to evidence in two additional cases involving the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. However, the legal standing of these cases is in question, as federal agents have a degree of immunity from state prosecution for conduct within the scope of their official duties.
The sources behind FAFO's funding are unknown, but the figures managing it are overtly left-wing. The anti-Trump group Defiance.org, which "incubated" FAFO, has provided seed funding and a website. The group was cofounded by Miles Taylor, a former official with the Trump Department of Homeland Security who declared himself "part of the Resistance" inside the administration in the infamous "Anonymous" op-ed he penned in the New York Times.
When FAFO spun off as its own nonprofit in March, it filed a business registration in Virginia listing its principal office at a Washington, D.C., address belonging to the law firm Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, whose partners include former top attorneys for the Democratic National Committee. The filing also lists three directors, all of whom have liberal backgrounds, including Delvone Michael, a former organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, and Ellen Yaroshefsky, a Hofstra University professor of legal ethics who serves on the New York State Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct.
The fact that FAFO's operations are funded by secret donors, and that the group's founders and directors have a history of disrupting the Trump administration's immigration policies, has raised concerns about the group's impartiality and the potential for politicized prosecutions. As Paulose pointed out, "there's a reason that taxpayers fund government offices," and the fact that FAFO is funded by outside donors "seems vindictive and contrary to basic notions of fairness." The situation highlights the need for transparency and accountability in the funding of prosecutorial efforts, and the importance of ensuring that prosecutions are based on the law, rather than political ideology.