New Grassley Report Shows Biden DOJ Sent Taxpayer-Funded Grants to Soros-Backed, Soft-on-Crime NGOs

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released a Majority staff report exposing the disastrous consequences of the Biden Department of Justice’s (DOJ) grants to two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – the Soros-backed Vera Institute of Justice and Impact Justice, which houses the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Resource Center.

The Trump administration has since terminated these grants to ensure DOJ awards align with the administration’s stated priorities: “support[ing] law enforcement operations, combat[ing] violent crime, protect[ing] American children, support[ing] American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and enhanc[ing] coordination among law enforcement.” Ninety-three percent of DOJ’s recently terminated grants only impacted NGOs.

“The Biden-Harris administration awarded millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars to advance left-leaning agendas that ultimately put lives at risk. The American people overwhelmingly rejected these soft-on-crime, defund-the-police policies in the last election because they undermined the safety and security of their communities. Organizations like the Vera Institute and Impact Justice that promote radical ideology have no business collecting another dime from the federal treasury. Americans are safer without their influence in the criminal justice system,” Grassley said.

Read the Grassley staff report HERE.

Background:

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Vera Institute was awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to prop up left-wing District Attorneys, who would then partner with the Vera Institute to implement Soros-backed progressive policies. These policies included prioritizing violent criminals over victims and declining to fully prosecute felony charges – including assault, kidnapping, rape and murder.

Impact Justice & the PREA Resource Center was awarded $7.45 million by the Biden-Harris administration to help combat sexual abuse in prisons and ensure the integrity of the PREA audit process.  However, the PREA auditors routinely failed to uncover pervasive sexual abuse. Further, PREA Resource Center training materials endangered women by encouraging the housing of transgender inmates in female prisons. This was done without due regard for inmate safety and in ways inconsistent with federal regulation.

Key Findings of the Report’s Analysis on the Vera Institute:

The Vera Institute used taxpayer funds to gain unprecedented access to progressive prosecutor offices. Below are several examples that illustrate the Vera Institute’s influence over federal prosecutors across the county.

• In New York, New York County DA Alvin Bragg partnered with the Vera Institute and declined to prosecute certain misdemeanor felonies, actively worked to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors and refused to detain criminals before their trials. Meanwhile, Bragg attempted to prosecute President Donald Trump for federal campaign finance violations.
• In 2025, there were over 48,000 individuals arrested for misdemeanors in New York County, but only 3,000 of them were detained.
• In Georgia, Athens DA Deborah Gonzalez partnered with the Vera Institute and pledged to protect illegal immigrant defendants and release criminals on bonds that do not require the posting of money.
• During the Gonzalez’s tenure, the Gonzalez negotiated a lenient plea deal for a sexual predator and serial rapist who preyed on women and children. Gonzalez later refused to pursue the death penalty for the murderer of Laken Riley.
• In Wisconsin, Milwaukee DA John Chisholm partnered with the Vera Institute to implement several progressive, soft-on-crime policies and reportedly told the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal, “Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into a treatment program, who’s going to go out and kill somebody? You bet.”
• In 2020, the Milwaukee DA’s office released a criminal twice before he ultimately drove an SUV through a Christmas Parade, killing six and injuring 62 others.
• In Missouri, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner partnered with the Vera Institute and pledged to “expand diversion programs, decline to prosecute low level cases and decrease the number of people held on cash bail.”
• Under the guidance of the Vera Institute, the Gardner dismissed more than 9,000 criminal cases and refused to prosecute 90 percent of reported crime, including cop killers and a child murderer.
• In Massachusetts, Suffolk County DA Rachel Rollins partnered with the Vera Institute and instructed prosecutors to decline prosecution of 15 different crimes, as well as create a screening unit tasked with decreasing the number of arraigned cases.
• In Virginia, Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano partnered with the Vera Institute and repeatedly released violent illegal immigrants back on the streets.
• The Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s office repeatedly released an illegal immigrant who had a record of 29 run-ins with law enforcement and a documented history of sexual assault and indecent exposure. The illegal immigrant raped a woman in October 2024 upon release.

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