Senator Louise Lucas isn't the only elected official in Virginia who is in the crosshairs of federal officials.
The Department of Justice says it formally launched a new investigation this week into Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano. The announcement says federal officials will be looking into the possibility of "sweetheart deals" for undocumented immigrants charged with serious crimes.
But former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi is skeptical. He says the point may be the announcement rather than the investigation.
"They know they're not going to find anything, but they just want to embarrass Steve Descano's office and him and make a point about undocumented persons," Rossi says. "It's just the action itself, not the result that they're caring about."
Legal expert Rich Kelsey was struck by a line in the announcement saying the DOJ has conducted similar investigations where violations have been found.
"I have personally never heard of an investigation into a law enforcement agency for giving preferential treatment to non-citizens as a manner to discriminate against U.S. citizens," Kelsey says. "I've never heard of that in my entire life. They make it seem like they've done this before; my guess is they have never done this before at the federal level."
The House Judiciary Committee has invited Descano and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid to appear for a hearing next week.
In a statement Thursday evening, Descano called the investigation an example of "misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks."
Statement from the Office on DOJ's Announcement of a Pattern or Practice Investigation pic.twitter.com/4qgNeVSrZa
— Fairfax DA Steve Descano (@FairfaxCountyCA) May 7, 2026
