Justice and Public Safety PAC is a left-of-center PAC that focuses on supporting the campaigns of left-of-center prosecutors. ¹ The PAC receives most of its funding from left-leaning billionaire George Soros and Democracy PAC, which also receives much of its funding from Soros. ² It is one of several similarly-named PACs that receive substantial funding from Soros and contribute to the campaigns of progressive district attorneys across the U.S. ³

Political Activities

National

From 2012 through 2022, George Soros has spent $40 million on Justice and Public Safety PACs throughout the United States to elect 75 left-progressive district attorneys and prosecutors who represent 72 million people, or about 20% of Americans. Over the last two years alone, Soros has spent $20 million on these PACs.⁴⁵

These prosecutors include George Gascon (D-Los Angelas), Chesa Boudin (D-San Fransisco) Kim Foxx (D-Chicago), Buta Biberja (D-Loudoun County), Alvin Bragg (D-Manhattan), and Larry Krasner (D-Philadelphia). Critics claim that these prosecutors have permitted or encouraged a rise in violent crime across the United States, especially since 2020. For instance, Alvin Bragg, the first black DA in Manhattan, ordered his assistant DAs to stop charging low level crimes, such as some forms of robbery, assaults, and gun possession crimes.⁶⁷

Virginia

In 2020, Justice and Public Safety supported the campaign of Parisa Dehghani-Tafti for Commonwealth’s Attorney for the county of Arlington, Virginia. Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has been the subject of national controversies multiple times, most recently for her decision to prosecute a store owner for shooting and injuring several young men that had broken into the store. ⁸

Justice and Safety PAC also supported the campaign of Loudoun county prosecutor Buta Biberaj. Critics alleged that Biberaj was a member of Facebook group making and planning cyberattack threats on parents in her community that opposed the teaching of critical race theory in their schools. ⁹ The Daily Wire, a right-leaning news outlet, reported that the Loudoun County Sheriff was investigating statements made in the Facebook group for possible criminality. ^{10 11}

Justice and Safety also provided support to the campaign of Steve Descano for Fairfax county prosecutor, who has been widely criticized as a “rogue prosecutor” for his controversial stance on prosecuting misdemeanor offenses. ^{12 13}

In 2021, the organization quietly contributed $157,000 to the campaign of Ramin Fatehi for Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney.¹⁴ The contribution was accompanied by a second $41,500 contribution from Democracy PAC, another PAC funded by George Soros.¹⁵

Expenditures

The largest recipient of Justice and Public Safety PAC’s expenditure are political consulting firms, particularly BerlinRosen, which as of June 2022, has earned over $200,000 in the 2022 election cycle, as well as $1.4 million in the 2020 cycle, and $81,000 in the 2018 cycle. Another recipient is the Democratic-aligned law firm Perkins Coie, which has earned $39,000 in the 2022 cycle. Lake Research Partners, a Democratic-aligned polling firm, has earned $90,000 in the 2022 cycle and earned $178,000 in the 2020 cycle.¹⁶

In the 2020 cycle, New Virginia Majority, a voter mobilization group trying to “flip” Virginia blue, received $75,000 from Justice and Public Safety PAC. Also in the 2020 cycle, Parisa for Justice, the PAC of candidate Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, received $190,000. Dehghani-Tafti was elected the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. The left-wing Working Families Party also received $70,000.¹⁷

Leadership

Whitney Tymas is the president and treasurer of Justice and Public Safety PAC and holds similar positions “at 20 other similarly named groups at both the state and federal levels” funded by George Soros’s Foundation to Promote an Open Society (FPOS) which are focused on funding progressive district attorneys who want to end tough-on-crime policies. According to the New York Post, Tymas coordinates many of these groups on behalf of Soros and the FPOS.¹⁸ These groups are: Arizona Safety & Justice, California Safety & Justice, Colorado Safety & Justice PAC, Florida Safety and Justice, Georgia Safety and Justice, Mississippi Justice & Public Safety PAC, Missouri Justice and Public Safety PAC, Nevada Law & Justice PAC, New Mexico Safety and Justice PAC, New York Justice & Safety PAC, Oregon Law & Justice PAC, and  Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC.^{19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27}

Previously Tymas was the director of the prosecution and racial justice program at the left-of-center Vera Institute of Justice, a senior attorney for the National District Attorneys Association, and the chair of Maricopa Strong, which opposed controversial then-Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R).²⁸²⁹

She has been on the board of directors for left-of-center advocacy groups Way to Win and the Civic Participation Action Fund (CPAF).³⁰³¹

1. Justin Jouvenal, Rachel Weiner. “PAC Funded by George Soros Pumps Nearly $1 Million into Local Races for Prosecutor.” The Washington Post. WP Company, June 5, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/pac-funded-by-george-soros-pumps-nearly-1-million-into-local-races-for-prosecutor/2019/06/04/c2df1b08-86f0-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html.
2. Justin Jouvenal, Rachel Weiner. “PAC Funded by George Soros Pumps Nearly $1 Million into Local Races for Prosecutor.” The Washington Post. WP Company, June 5, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/pac-funded-by-george-soros-pumps-nearly-1-million-into-local-races-for-prosecutor/2019/06/04/c2df1b08-86f0-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html.
3. InfluenceWatch. Collected receipts of Soros District Attorney spending, 2015-2020. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2021/04/Soros-Attorney-Funding.pdf
4. Alexander, Harriot. “George Soros-backed groups have spent $40 million to elect 75 progressive prosecutors over the last decade – meaning one in FIVE Americans now live in areas covered by his criminal justice reformers.” Daily Mail. June 8, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10894581/George-Soross-groups-spent-40-million-elect-75-progressive-prosecutors-decade.html.
5. Phillips, Larry. “EXPOSED: PACs funnel millions to buy DA offices.” Liberal First. May 13, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://liberalfirst.com/opinion/11540-exposed-pacs-funnel-millions-to-buy-da-offices.
6. Alexander, Harriot. “George Soros-backed groups have spent $40 million to elect 75 progressive prosecutors over the last decade – meaning one in FIVE Americans now live in areas covered by his criminal justice reformers.” Daily Mail. June 8, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10894581/George-Soross-groups-spent-40-million-elect-75-progressive-prosecutors-decade.html.
7. Phillips, Larry. “EXPOSED: PACs funnel millions to buy DA offices.” Liberal First. May 13, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://liberalfirst.com/opinion/11540-exposed-pacs-funnel-millions-to-buy-da-offices.
8. ARLnow.com. “Store Owner Goes on Fox News to Blast Decision to Charge Employee for Shooting.” ARLnow.com, April 24, 2020. https://www.arlnow.com/2020/04/01/store-owner-goes-on-fox-news-to-blast-decision-to-charge-employee-for-shooting/.
9. ELLIE BUFKIN, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “Virginia Parents Threatened after Criticizing Critical Race Theory.” WBFF. WBFF, May 7, 2021. https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/virginia-parents-threatened-after-criticizing-critical-race-theory.
10. Rosiak, Luke. “Teachers Compile List Of Parents Who Question Racial Curriculum, Plot War On Them.” The Daily Wire. The Daily Wire, March 16, 2021. https://www.dailywire.com/news/loudoun-teachers-target-parents-critical-race-theory-hacking.
11. ELLIE BUFKIN, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “Virginia Parents Threatened after Criticizing Critical Race Theory.” WBFF. WBFF, May 7, 2021. https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/virginia-parents-threatened-after-criticizing-critical-race-theory.
12. Jouvenal, Justin. “Group Begins Recall Campaign against Fairfax County Prosecutor.” The Washington Post. WP Company, April 14, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/group-begins-recall-campaign-against-fairfax-county-prosecutor/2021/04/14/7c8629ac-9d33-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html.
13. Smith, Zack. “Meet Steve Descano, the Rogue Prosecutor Whose Policies Are Wreaking Havoc in Fairfax County, Virginia.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed June 2, 2021. https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/meet-steve-descano-the-rogue-prosecutor-whose-policies-are-wreaking.
14. Schoffstall, Joe. “Soros Quietly Drops $200,000 Backing Another Far-Left Prosecutor in Virginia.” Fox News. FOX News Network, June 16, 2021. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/soros-donates-200k-virginia-prosecutor-race.
15. Schoffstall, Joe. “Soros Quietly Drops $200,000 Backing Another Far-Left Prosecutor in Virginia.” Fox News. FOX News Network, June 16, 2021. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/soros-donates-200k-virginia-prosecutor-race.
16. “Expenditures by Justice and Public Safety.” Open Secrets. Accessed June 16, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/expenditures.php?cmte=C00651505&cycle=2018.
17. “Expenditures by Justice and Public Safety.” Open Secrets. Accessed June 16, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/expenditures.php?cmte=C00651505&cycle=2018.
18. Vincent, Isabel. “How George Soros funded progressive ‘legal arsonist’ DAs behind US crime surge.” New York Post. December 16, 2021. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://nypost.com/2021/12/16/how-george-soros-funded-progressive-das-behind-us-crime-surge/.
19. Billeaud, Jacques. “Group linked to Soros opposes Phoenix prosecutor’s campaign.” Arizona Central (Associated Press). October 15, 2016. Updated October 15, 2016. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2016/10/15/group-linked-soros-opposes-phoenix-prosecutors-campaign/92156474/.
20. Walters, Dan. “Billionaire Soros was a big loser in California vote.” Cal Matters. June 27, 2018. Accessed September 29, 2021. https://calmatters.org/commentary/2018/06/george-soros-california-2018-primary/.
21. Denver Post Editorial Board. “Misleading Attacks by George Soros in Colorado.” The Denver Post. Posted and updated November 2, 2016. Accessed via Web Archive September 19, 2021.  https://archive.is/cevY5.
22. Cherney, Elyssa. “Records: Billionaire George Soros bankrolling Orange-Osceola State Attorney challenger.” Orlando Sentinel. August 10, 2016. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-george-soros-jeff-ashton-election-federal-and-state-records-indicate-billion-20160810-story.html.
23. Megan Messerly, Michelle Rindels, Riley Snyder, and Jackie Valley. “Spending spree continues in heated Democratic gubernatorial primary, with Sisolak leading the charge.” The Nevada Independent. June 8, 2018. Accessed September 19, 2019. https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/laxalt-raked-in-big-money-but-spent-more-during-recent-filing-period.
24. Fleming, Rory. “When a ‘Progressive’ Prosecutor Ditches Reform to Grab More Power.” Filter. April 7, 2020. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://filtermag.org/progressive-prosecutor-ditch-reform/.
25. Craig, Gary. “Why the Soros-funded ads are creating so much controversy in the District Attorney’s race.” Democrat and Chronicle. October 29, 2019. Updated November 1, 2019. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://archive.is/ZIeiU.
26. Tilkin, Dan. “Outside money heats up Washington County DA race.” KOIN News. April 25, 2018. Updated April 26, 2018. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://www.koin.com/news/politics/outside-money-heats-up-washington-county-da-race/1141161739/.
27. Peterson, Blake. “Soros again pumps money into Harris County district attorney’s race.” Houston Chronicle. September 19, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive. October 13, 2021. https://archive.is/olmgn.
28. “Whitney Tymas.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-tymas-56602837/.
29. Billeaud, Jacques. “Tough Phoenix sheriff may have new foe: George Soros.” Associated Press. September 14, 2016. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/d8c4fa3a9c784a318d79f1aaeb04ce63
30. “Way to Win Action Fund Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From income Tax. (Form 990). 2018. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/825528039/02_2020_prefixes_82-84%2F825528039_201812_990O_2020020617114568.
31. “The Civic Participation Action Fund.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2018. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Civic-Participation-Action-Fund-2018-990.pdf.