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EXCLUSIVE: Republican senators want a government investigation into taxpayer dollars funding charitable bail organizations that get accused criminals out of jail before their court hearings.
Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky authored a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Tuesday asking the nonpartisan, fact-finding body to dig into nonprofits that provide bail services.
Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We are deeply concerned about the prospect of taxpayer dollars being allocated to nonprofit entities that post bail for individuals but are not held liable to the same standards as traditional bail agents within their jurisdiction,” the senators wrote in a letter to the GAO obtained first by Fox News Digital.
NY BAIL REFORM PUSH FACES BLOWBACK FROM CRIME VICTIMS IN EMOTIONAL PROTEST
The senators want a list of federally funded nonprofits that provide bail services, how much taxpayer dollars they receive and whether there’s any existing restrictions on using federal dollars to get people charged with crimes out of jail.
The request comes amid a spike in violent crime, progressive bail reforms in places like New York and high-profile incidents in both the senators’ home states where charitable groups posted bailed for alleged criminals.
In Indianapolis last year, the nonprofit organization The Bail Project posted bail for individuals that went on to commit murder while they were on pretrial release. The Bail Project received $250,000 from the city of Indianapolis and the Central Indiana Community Foundation, according to the local Fox 59 affiliate.
Quintez Brown, 21, is charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment.
(Louisville Department of Corrections)
And in McConnell’s home…