by Bronson Winslow
A George Soros-backed commonwealth attorney allegedly used taxpayer funds to investigate her political rivals, submitting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to view correspondences between county officials and local reporters, according to Fox News.
Loudoun County, Virginia, Democratic Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj, who received funding from a Soros-backed PAC in 2019, allegedly targeted political opponents and reporters by submitting FOIA requests with her government email, claiming that she was investigating numerous information leaks over the years, according to Fox News. After the FOIA requests were discovered, Democratic Loudoun County Supervisor Kristen Umstattd called on Biberaj to return the funds, as “the requests, at least, appear to be personal or political, and are not clearly related to your official duties as Commonwealth’s Attorney.”
“I would request that you reimburse, from non-governmental funds, the County and Commonwealth for any County or State resources, including staff time, that you used in preparing and transmitting those personal/political requests from your government office,” Umstattd said in a letter obtained by Fox News.
Biberaj, who officially announced her bid for reelection Monday, received more than $800,000 from the Soros-backed Justice and Public Safety PAC in 2019, according to Fox News. Soros is by far the largest contributor to the PAC, donating $1,085,000 in 2019-2020 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.
The PAC has a long history supporting the campaigns of commonwealth attorneys in Virginia, donating to Biberaj, Parisa Dehghani-Taft, Steve Descano and Ramin Fatehi, according to Influence Watch.
The FOIAs targeted Nicole Wittman and Elizabeth Lancaster, both political rivals of Biberaj, according to Fox News. Lancaster is Biberaj’s current opponent in the Democratic primary, while Wittman challenged her in 2019.
One of the FOIA requests targeted reporters, allegedly seeking communications with county board of supervisors members, according to Fox News.
When asked by reporters Monday why she was looking for communications with reporters, Biberaj said “it’s FOIA for the truth,” according to Fox News. “There have been leaks coming from the board of supervisors for the last three years.”
Some are asking if Buta Biberaj violated a Virginia law after she submitted FOIA requests through her official office seeking info about her political opponents.
“Great, and you know what the problem with statutes: When you don’t have the evidence, it’s not a crime,” – Biberaj pic.twitter.com/e4E36Mhzd2
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) February 14, 2023
During a Monday press conference, reporters questioned Biberaj, asking if she believed her actions warrant a felony for using public assets for personal purposes, according to Fox News.
“You know what the problem is with statutes: When you don’t have the evidence, it’s not a crime. There have been no violations of law that have been caused here,” Biberaj told reporters.
Biberaj did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Bronson Winslow is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
