Comer and Higgins Investigate D.C. Attorney General’s Politically Motivated Lawfare

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) are examining the District of Columbia Attorney General’s recently dismissed, politically motivated lawfare case against three gun stores in Montgomery County, Maryland. In a letter to D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, the lawmakers request communications, documents, and agreements exchanged between the D.C. Attorney General’s office and Perkins and Coie LLP and Everytown Law in relation to this case.  
 
“On September 3, 2024, [the D.C. Attorney General’s] office, with the Attorney General of the State of Maryland, sued three gun stores in Montgomery County, Maryland, alleging the stores knowingly participated in straw purchase gun sales. These allegations ignored the fact that the transactions in question were reviewed by the appropriate law enforcement agencies (the Maryland State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) who made no assertions that any transactions violated either federal or state law,” wrote the lawmakers. “The Committee is concerned that authorities delegated by Congress to D.C., and exercised by [the Attorney General’s] office, are being abused in pursuit of a political agenda.” 
 
The Committee is investigating the D.C. Attorney General’s office for coordinating with outside counsel to engage in politically motivated lawfare against regulated firearms businesses operating within the law. The complaint alleges the Attorney General’s office hired Perkins Coie LLP, a left-wing law firm, as outside counsel for the litigation against the Maryland gun stores, in addition to Everytown Law, a known anti-gun group that frequently brings frivolous litigation against the firearms industry. The Attorney General’s office weaponized legal resources and sued these gun stores at the expense of American taxpayers, despite state and federal law enforcement agencies determining that no state and federal laws were broken.  
 
“The 42-page complaint, filled with inuendo and unsubstantiated assertions, appears intended to destroy the reputation of legal businesses. As the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly reaffirmed the Constitutional right of U.S. citizens to bear arms, litigation intended to smother gun stores and manufacturers represents an unlawful attack on Second Amendment rights,” continued the lawmakers. “The assertion that the charges in question were devoid of facts is not just the Committee’s view: it was the conclusion of the Judge who dismissed the case “with prejudice, and without leave to amend.” 

Read the letter to D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb here.