On Thursday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement will hold a hearing into the “dangerous consequences” of sanctuary city policies that will primarily focus on the actions of George Soros-backed Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.
Back on May 7, the Justice Department announced it is investigating Descano’s preferential treatment of “illegal alien” criminal defendants.
The head of the DOJ’s civil rights division, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced that the investigation “will uncover whether” Descano “is putting the community at risk in offering sweetheart deals to illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes.”
On May 7, the New York Post reported: “Descano, who received more than $700,000 in campaign contributions from groups funded by Democratic kingmaker George Soros, has recently come under fire for sentencing a pair of illegal migrants convicted of murder – Maldin Anibal Guzman and Wis Alonso Sorto-Portillo – to just five years behind bars. The two men were sentenced last month after admitting to killing Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez at a popular park in Oakton, Va., in July 2024.”
Descano also took heat for ignoring Fairfax County cops’ warnings (going back to 2025) about Sierra Leonean illegal Abdul Jalloh, who was arrested in February for stabbing 41-year-old mother Stephanie Minter to death at a bus stop.
Good segment looking into DOJ's investigation of George Soros-backed DA Steve Descano on the May 7, 2026 edition of @FoxNews @IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/wVWGIRCBj4
— Geoffrey Dickens (@GCDickens) May 13, 2026
So, how much coverage have the broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC) evening and morning news programs spent on this high-profile case involving the Soros-backed DA?
Zero seconds.
MRC analysts looked at the evening and morning news programs from February 23 (the arrest of Jalloh) to the morning of May 14 and found zero references to the investigation into Descano or any mention of the murders of Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez and Stephanie Minter.
On May 7, the New York Post reported:
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into a radical Northern Virginia prosecutor who allegedly discriminated against US citizens by offering preferential treatment “only to illegal alien” criminal defendants.
The DOJ notified Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano on Wednesday that it is looking into potential civil rights violations related to his office’s plea bargaining, charging decisions and sentencing policies.
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow local prosecutors to pick and choose winners based on their immigration status,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “This investigation will uncover whether this prosecutor is putting the community at risk in offering sweetheart deals to illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes,” the head of the DOJ’s civil rights division added.
The investigation centers on Descano’s adoption of policies that instruct prosecutors to “consider immigration consequences where possible” and “consider … the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with” during plea bargaining, charging and sentencing.
The DOJ is examining whether Descano “engaged in unlawful discrimination in violation of Title VI and the Safe Streets Act and whether [his office] is engaged in a pattern or practice of law enforcement misconduct that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States” by implementing that policy after his 2019 election.
During his campaign, Descano’s website included language similar to the current Fairfax County DA’s office’s policy.
“If two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County,” read the since-deleted line on Descano’s website, The Post previously reported.
Descano, who received more than $700,000 in campaign contributions from groups funded by Democratic kingmaker George Soros, has recently come under fire for sentencing a pair of illegal migrants convicted of murder – Maldin Anibal Guzman and Wis Alonso Sorto-Portillo – to just five years behind bars. The two men were sentenced last month after admitting to killing Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez at a popular park in Oakton, Va., in July 2024.
Descano has also faced controversy for apparently ignoring warnings from Fairfax County cops dating back to 2025 about the danger of an illegal migrant from Sierra Leone – Abdul Jalloh – who, in February, was arrested for fatally stabbing 41-year-old mom Stephanie Minter.
Jalloh already had a lengthy rap sheet, including rape, assault and grand larceny charges, prior to the alleged murder — but over a dozen charges against him had been dropped by Descano’s team.
For this study, MRC analysts looked at the broadcast evening (ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News), morning news shows (ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, NBC Today) from February 23 through the morning of May 14.
