GOP candidate Larry Elder: 'Soft-on-crime' Iowa county attorneys need to be removed
GOP presidential candidate and radio commentator Larry Elder is calling for legislation to hold Iowa county attorneys accountable for prosecuting criminal cases to the fullest extent of the law.
Elder, who sought to replace Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a failed 2021 recall effort, proposed in a Des Moines news conference Thursday that an ethics commission be created to oversee county attorneys across the state of Iowa. The commission — potentially comprised of retired judges — would be able to recommend their removal from office if they declined to pursue cases.
He pointed to what he said are assaults, violence against police and murders in major metropolitan areas governed by liberal leaders as the driving force behind the initiative. The Georgia state Senate earlier this year passed similar legislation creating a commission that can discipline or remove local prosecutors.
"The number one job of the government is to protect people and property," Elder said. "The number one job of the government is not being fulfilled due to soft-on-crime, George Soros-backed DAs."
He specifically cited “your soft-on-crime DA in Des Moines," an apparent reference to Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham, a Democrat who pledged in her election campaign last fall not to undertake prosecutions for low-level marijuana possession and peaceful protests, and for violations of laws restricting abortion rights.
Graham could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Organizing the news conference was the newly established political action committee Enforce the Law, represented at the event by Eric Branstad, son of former Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.
Larry Elder says commission would be able to recommend removal of 'soft-on-crime DAs'
Elder first announced his proposal on Fox News Digital while stating that he would not join fellow GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s effort to get all of the Republican presidential hopefuls to sign a pledge that if elected, they would pardon former President Donald Trump. The frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Trump was indicted June 8 on charges related to his handling of hundreds of classified documents seized from his Florida estate.
Elder instead criticized the general politicization of the American criminal justice system and said the real problem is prosecutors funded by Democratic mega-donor Soros who pick and choose what laws to enforce.
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Soros has contributed to local district-attorney campaigns and a liberal group that endorses progressive prosecutors.
"This commission will be able to enable people to file complaints (against county attorneys), have complaints taken seriously and have this body of people look at these complaints and make recommendations to remove these soft-on-crime DAs that are imperiling the community and killing the very people that the people on the left claim to care about," Elder said.
The Republican-majority Iowa Legislature already passed a government reorganization bill in its most recent session that allows Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird to step in and open local prosecutions when county attorneys don't.
Elder only directly referenced cases involving gun violence or use of force, saying liberal-run cities are failing to take action against criminals he asserted are behind a wave of crime that includes assaults on police. When asked if the proposed legislation could be used to target county attorneys who refuse to prosecute those seeking abortions or facing low-level drug charges, Elder responded that the commission would serve as a deterrent to irresponsible behavior.
Elder says 'DA in Des Moines knows she's being watched'
According to Elder, he would first seek to pass legislation in Iowa, with intentions to establish similar commissions across the country. Enforce the Law said it would work to assist local officials in implementing the model in their respective municipalities.
The Iowa County Attorneys Association did not respond to requests for comment.
Elder added that he had spoken to Bird about the initiative and that she supports it. But Alyssa Brouillet, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, on Friday denied Bird's involvement, saying she was unfamiliar with the proposal.
Elder during Thursday's news conference, asked to specify crimes in Iowa he believes are going unprosecuted, said, “Your soft-on-crime DA in Des Moines knows she's being watched and, so far, she hasn't done anything egregious," Elder said.
But he went on to cite the handling of the December killing by Des Moines police of a 16-year-old who officers said turned a gun in their direction after failing to heed repeated requests to put it down.
"Your Des Moines attorney handled the police-involved shooting of that 16-year-old Black kid badly," Elder said, alleging that the prosecutor had planned to hold a forum to allow the public to determine if the shooting was justified.
It wasn't clear what he was referring to. The shooting was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Attorney General's Office ― not by Graham's office ― and the shooting was ultimately ruled justified.