Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano is facing a forceful rebuke from a former federal prosecutor who extensively criticized his record after announcing her bid to unseat him. Descano, a Democrat, has faced criticism over what opponents describe as lenient prosecutorial decisions, particularly in serious cases involving illegal immigrant suspects. Former federal prosecutor Brittany Dunn-Pirio said that if there weren’t systemic problems in his office, she would want to work there.
"If this office were doing its job, I wouldn’t be running against it. I’d be applying to work for it. But it isn’t," Dunn-Pirio said on her new campaign website after Washington, D.C.-area media reported her bid late Wednesday.
VIRGINIA DEMS SPLIT ON DOJ PROBE OF SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF GIVING 'SWEETHEART DEALS' TO ILLEGAL ALIENS "I’m a Democrat. This race isn’t about whether reform was right. It’s about whether the office can tell the difference between a first-time nonviolent offender who deserves a second chance and a violent or sexual offender who doesn’t," Dunn-Pirio said on her website.
"It’s about whether deadlines are met, evidence is given to the defendant and victims are spoken to." VIRGINIA DEM DEFENDS SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR FROM DOJ PROBE AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGING ALLEGATIONS Fox News Digital reached out to Descano and Dunn-Pirio for further comment. Descano campaign spokesman Nathan Kiker defended the incumbent's record, telling Fox News Digital that "Steve Descano has spent his tenure proving that you can reform the justice system and keep our community safe at the same time." "Today, Fairfax County is recognized as the safest large county in the nation because Steve focused on accountability and the root causes of crime rather than failed policies of the past. We are proud to put that record before the voters," Kiker said.
Dunn-Pirio also pointed to "botched sexual assault cases" and prosecutors declining to meet with victims, along with her contention that the justice system too often favors the "well-connected." One case that has drawn the scrutiny of Descano’s office involves Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone charged with murdering Stephanie Minter. Minter was stabbed and killed at a Hybla Valley bus stop in February after Jalloh had cycled through the criminal justice system following numerous previous arrests. Descano has pushed back on claims that his office simply allowed Jalloh to walk free, telling Congress his prosecutors obtained convictions against him "wherever possible." SOROS-BACKED DA'S LAX ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION POLICIES LED TO 'PREVENTABLE' BUS STOP STABBING MURDER: COMPLAINT Dunn-Pirio previously served as a prosecutor in Frederick County, Virginia, and as a federal prosecutor in the district covering Lexington, Kentucky.
She said she resigned from the DOJ in 2025 after working on COVID-related fraud and similar cases. "I couldn’t stomach propping up a system that gave pardons to the well-connected while prosecuting average Americans for the same conduct," she said, according to a release obtained by FairfaxNow. She also said Descano’s office has spent too much time "failing the people I care about." A carousel on her new campaign website highlights cases that have drawn public scrutiny of Descano, including: REPEAT OFFENDER WITH DOZENS OF PRIOR CHARGES ARRESTED FOR BURGLARIZING CHURCH IN SOROS-BACKED DA'S COUNTY "We need a Commonwealth’s Attorney who can make this office work," Dunn-Pirio said.
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