Left-wing billionaire George Soros insisted Monday that the soft-on-crime district attorneys he has backed millions of dollars are making the criminal justice system “more effective and just” – and warned that “my way of stopping No pun intended” support for them.
Hungarian-born Soros, 91, argued Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Published Sunday that the agenda pushed by top prosecutors such as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was both “popular” and “effective.”
“This agenda includes prioritizing the resources of the criminal-justice system to protect people from violent crime. It urges that we treat drug addiction as a disease, not a crime. And it seeks to end poverty and the criminalization of mental illness,” he later wrote: “The goal is not protecting the police but restoring trust between the police and the police, a partnership that promotes solving crimes. “
Soros published the op-ed amid a backlash against loose district attorneys, causing San Francisco voters to back District Attorney Chesa Boudin on shoplifting, open-air drug dealing and broad daylight, often against Asian-Americans. Called. Down the coast in Los Angeles, another recall effort is targeting DA Jorge Gascon—who received nearly $3 million in campaign funding from Soros.
Closer to home, Bragg — whose campaign received $1 million from Soros through the Color of Change political action committee — came under fire for allowing habitual offenders to get out of prison, while defending himself on ordinary New Yorkers. was prosecuted for doing so.
In his op-ed, Soros blamed the rise in crime across the country on “a disturbing rise in mental illness among young people due to the isolation imposed by the Covid lockdowns, a pullback in policing in the wake of public criminal-justice reform protests” , and an increase in gun smuggling.
“Many of those who call for more punitive criminal-justice policies also support looser gun laws,” he said.
The Capital Research Center reported in January this year that Soros had Over $29 million given for leftist district attorney candidates through a network of political action committees. Other office bearers who have benefited from the generosity include Larry Krasner in Philadelphia, Kim Fox in Cook County, Ill., Kim Gardner in St. Louis, and Kim Ogg in Harris County, Texas.
“The idea that we need to choose between justice and security is wrong. They reinforce each other: if people trust the justice system, it will work. And if the system works, then Public safety will improve,” Soros wrote.
Instead of investing billions of dollars to keep people in prisons and prisons, he argued, “we need to invest more in preventing crime with strategies that work — mental-health in crisis situations.” Deploying professionals, investing in youth job programs, and creating educational opportunities behind bars. This reduces the likelihood that they will commit new crimes after prisoner release.”
“This is why I supported the election (and the recent re-election) of prosecutors who support reform. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping,” concluded Soros. .
“The funding I provide enables savvy reform-minded candidates to get a hearing from the public. Judging by the results, the public loves what they are hearing.”