Sign Up Account Profile Log Out

Newsletters Morning Report 12:30 Report Evening Report Business Defense Health Care Technology Newsletter Energy & Environment Whole Hog Politics The Gavel The Movement

Technology Newsletter

News Senate House Administration Courts Future America Media Campaign News Education In The Know Latino LGBTQ DC News Race & Politics State Watch Print Edition People in the News

Policy Defense Health Care Energy & Environment Technology Transportation International Cybersecurity National Security Space Sustainability

Business Budget Taxes Personal Finance Lobbying

Opinion Columnists Congress Blog All Contributors Opinions – Campaign Opinions – Civil Rights Opinions – Criminal Justice Opinions – Cybersecurity Opinions – Education Opinions – Energy and Environment Opinions – Finance Opinions – Healthcare Opinions – Immigration Opinions – International Opinions – Judiciary Opinions – National Security Opinions – Technology Opinions – White House Submit Opinion Content

All Contributors Opinions – Campaign Opinions – Civil Rights Opinions – Criminal Justice Opinions – Cybersecurity Opinions – Education Opinions – Energy and Environment Opinions – Finance Opinions – Healthcare Opinions – Immigration Opinions – International Opinions – Judiciary Opinions – National Security Opinions – Technology Opinions – White House

Opinions – Civil Rights

Opinions – Criminal Justice

Opinions – Cybersecurity

Opinions – Energy and Environment

Opinions – Healthcare

Opinions – Immigration

Opinions – International

Opinions – National Security

Opinions – Technology

Opinions – White House

Submit Opinion Content

Events Upcoming Events About

Sign Up Account Profile Log Out

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Content from Google Cloud

Anderson Cooper leaving ’60 Minutes,’ staying with CNN Media | 6 minutes ago

Opinion More and more ham sandwiches aren’t getting indicted nowadays Opinions - Judiciary | 11 minutes ago

Georgia teacher killed in crash involving migrant chased by feds State Watch | 37 minutes ago

The Movement: Allure of tax cuts fades on right, challenging GOP midterm message The Movement | 41 minutes ago

Opinion 3 cheers for the anti-tariff House Republicans Opinions - White House | 41 minutes ago

Kate had ‘less interest’ than William in keeping Harry a working royal: Book In The Know | 49 minutes ago

Average tax refund up nearly 11 percent so far this filing season Business | 59 minutes ago

Opinion We never stopped foreign aid, but now we are doing more with less Opinions - Energy and Environment | 1 hour ago

More and more ham sandwiches aren’t getting indicted nowadays

If the old saying is true, then Jeanine Pirro, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia should be able to indict a ham sandwich. Maybe she can — but what if she can’t? 

President Trump had a bad week. In Washington, a grand jury refused to indict six Democratic members of Congress for breaking a law that makes it a crime to “interfere with, impair, or influence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States.”

The lawmakers posted a video last November reminding service members that they must refuse illegal orders. They were obviously referring to the attacks Trump had ordered on ships in international waters which had left Venezuelan ports. Approximately 40 such strikes have killed more than 130 people, including survivors of an initial strike. 

In a second humiliation for Trump, a Bush-appointed federal judge in Washington dismissed a Pentagon proceeding to punish Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) for “seditious behavior,” arising out of the same video. The judge said the move “trampled on Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees.”  

Trump has called the lawmakers’ video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” 

When I was a federal prosecutor, it was often said that “a prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.” The useful exaggeration came from a 1955 remark by Sol Wachtler, a chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. His point was that because the prosecutor’s office controls what information a grand jury hears, any grand jury today would, if requested, do the prosecutor’s bidding. 

The Supreme Court has held that federal grand juries need not adhere to trial rules of evidence or be told of exculpatory evidence. Rather, the greatest advantage grand juries now provide is allowing the prosecutor to use it to nail down testimony, or as a pre-trial “focus group,” learning which evidence or witnesses are especially convincing, or unconvincing.  

Despite Wachtler’s often-repeated quotations, grand juries have frequently refused to indict when they don’t believe a crime has been committed.

A grand jury has great power. It is one of the few institutions that can tell the government to go to hell. If a grand jury fails to indict, a criminal prosecution cannot proceed. Of course, prosecutors are free to present the evidence again to another grand jury if they do so within the statute of limitations.

The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees that no one should be held for an “infamous crime” without “indictment of a grand jury.” The guarantee unfortunately applies only to the federal courts, not the states, although about half the states use the grand jury system.

The right to a grand jury indictment is a precious right we inherited from England, although Britain abandoned grand juries in 1933. The concept stems from the 1166 Assizes of Clarendon, reaffirmed in Magna Carta.

Critics ridicule modern grand juries as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor, but the iconic Judge Learned Hand referred to the grand jury as “the voice of the community accusing its members, and the only protection from such accusation is in the conscience of that tribunal.” And the Supreme Court stated in 1960 that the grand jury is intended to ensure offenses are “charged by a group of his fellow citizens acting independently of either prosecuting attorney or judge.” 

Although the bar is so low that grand juries almost always return the indictment the prosecutor desires, the Trump administration’s vengeful attempts to harass his political opponents have been so shockingly anti-democratic that grand juries have repeatedly refused to go along. The New York Times called the most recent refusal “a remarkable rebuke.”

Trump’s justice department has brought questionable criminal cases against political and personal enemies of the president — among them, James B. Comey, the former FBI director, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney general. He has threatened to bring more. For now, courts have dismissed the charges against both. 

Further illustrating the propensity for vindictive prosecutions, Trump recently opened criminal investigations into Democratic officials in Minnesota who opposed his immigration crackdown, arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon over his presence at a church protest in Minneapolis and executed a search warrant at an elections office in Atlanta based on spurious claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. 

In November, Pirro approved a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has long sought to remove from office for his avowed independence on interest rates. 

A word to the wise, however, should be sufficient. Last August, Pirro obtained an indictment of Sean Dunn, the so-called “sandwich guy,” who had chucked a wrapped Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol officer. A jury acquitted Dunn after a trial and several hours of deliberation. Then the jurors went out for a sandwich. 

James D. Zirin is a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and a published legal analyst. 

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Opinions - Judiciary News

Ocasio-Cortez’s Munich appearance draws mixed response from Democrats

DHS shutdown has no clear off-ramp: 5 takeaways

Olympics turn political as US athletes speak out against Trump

What to know about the disastrous Potomac sewage spill

Noem dismisses criticism of ‘right people’ voting for ‘right ...

Homan says he doesn’t ‘know’ meaning behind Noem’s ‘right ...

Republicans worry party won’t do enough to address costs before midterms

Judge invokes George Orwell’s ‘1984’ in ordering restoration ...

Why violent crime is dropping in US cities

Donald Trump and the disgrace of Presidents Day

Trump directs federal authorities to protect Potomac

Hillary Clinton gets in testy exchange with European leader over Trump

Live updates: DHS shuts down without funding deal; House and Senate out all week

The Movement: Allure of tax cuts fades on right, challenging GOP midterm message

FBI not sharing evidence in Pretti shooting, Minnesota authorities say

Moore’s office fires back at Trump after blaming Potomac sewage spill on ...

Trump slams Newsom over ‘inappropriate’ California-UK energy agreement

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson dies at age 84

The Hill Podcasts – Morning Report

2024 Election Results

2024 Election Forecast

Regulation - Administration

Energy & Environment Video Clips

Health Care Video Clips

Technology Video Clips

Transportation Video Clips

International Video Clips

Cybersecurity Video Clips

National Security Video Clips

Contributors to The Hill

Submit Opinion Content

PRIVACY POLICY 09/30/2025

Advertise with Nexstar

Journalistic Integrity

THE HILL 400 N CAPITOL STREET NW, SUITE 650 WASHINGTON DC 20002

© 1998 - 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Sign in to create a free account. No password needed.

By clicking on any of the sign up options below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, which includes a jury trial waiver and class action waiver, and that you have read our Privacy Policy detailing our collection, use and sharing of your personal information.

By clicking on any of the sign up options below, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use, which includes a jury trial waiver and class action waiver, and that you have read our Privacy Policy detailing our collection, use and sharing of your personal information.

The Hill is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

The Hill is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Check your email inbox

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Thanks for registering!

Provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc.

Are you sure you want to log out?

© The Hill