In a rare move, a locally-elected Virginia prosecutor has joined two judges in opposing a Department of Justice case against a woman the DOJ claims illegally doxxed White House advisor Stephen Miller and his family.
Axios reports the case has become a battle over free speech rights and exposes “the sharp partisan divide between Northern Virginia's Democratic resistance and President Trump's MAGA government, just across the Potomac River.”
On began Sept. 11, 66-year-old retiree Barbara Wien was spotted posting flyers in Miller's Arlingtonneighborhood. The flyers included a photo of Miller with a red circle and cross through him and said, "NO NAZIS IN NOVA," according to court records. The flyers also listed Miller's home address. Axios reports Wien was seen walking bythe Millers' home that day and made eye contact with Miller's wife, podcaster Katie Miller, who was on her front porch, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Wien made an "I'm watching you" gesture by pointing her index and middle finger to her eye, according to a frame grab from a Secret Service surveillance video.
Axios reports Trump administration investigators pounced the flyers and the gesture as a violation of Virginia's law against doxxing and other federal statutes. The FBI sought a warrant for Wien's phone but Magistrate Judge Lindsey Vaala denied the FBI's petition for the warrant.
Axios reports Vaala slapped down the warrant a second time on Thursday, but in a related state investigation, a prosecutor in Arlington, Va., made an "unusual request" by siding with the defense to persuade a state judge to limit the search and keep the data from the FBI.
"The position of the judge and the justice system in Northern Virginia is, Stephen Miller deserves this, so it shouldn't be investigated," a senior administration official told Axios. "This is just about gathering evidence to see if there should be an arrest. And the judges are blocking it."
Wien's lawyer Bradley R. Haywood claims she broke no laws and is a harmless academic. Haywood also accused Trump’s DOJ of trying to quash lawful dissent.
"No charges have been brought. No subsequent search warrants have been sought or been issued," Haywood told Axios. “State police are unlawfully holding this property (Wien’s phone). … It could not be clearer. This is protected speech.”
“A prosecutor is usually on the same team as the investigators trying to make a case. But in this case, it's the opposite. She's been stymying the investigation, it appears," said Richard Cullen, counselor to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who federal prosecutors invited into the case.
Federal prosecutors also invited Virginia's Attorney General Jason Miyares onto the case, but Miyares lost his election to Democrat Jay Jones on Tuesday.
Read the full Axios report at this link.