WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday aimed at eliminating cashless bail for suspects arrested in Washington, D.C., and in other jurisdictions around the country with similar policies, according to fact sheets describing the executive orders the White House provided to NBC News.
The executive order on D.C. directs the administration to take certain actions if the city does not change its cashless bail policy, including "federal funding decisions, services, or approvals," according to the fact sheet. Attorney General Pam Bondi, too, could get involved, though the fact sheet did not detail what actions she might take.
The order on D.C., first reported by Axios, also asks law enforcement officials to work to ensure that people arrested in the city are taken into federal custody "to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law," the fact sheet said.
In the federal custody system, eligible defendants can be released before trial if they meet certain requirements, which can include putting up collateral bonds or fulfilling certain nonfinancial requirements, like personal recognizance.
The executive order aimed at other cities across the country directs the administration to find federal funds that could be "suspended or terminated" in jurisdictions that have cashless bail policies, the fact sheet said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office would not comment.
Trump signed another executive order Monday aimed at prosecuting people who "desecrate" the American flag, a third fact sheet said. That order, first reported by Fox News, directs Bondi to "vigorously prosecute those who violate our laws in ways that involve desecrating the flag, and to pursue litigation to clarify the scope of First Amendment in this area."
The order also targets noncitizens by asking the administration to "deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, or naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal" of noncitizens who desecrate the flag. The order could hit a legal obstacle in that the Supreme Court decided in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 that flag burning was protected by the First Amendment.
The D.C. executive order on cashless bail is Trump's latest step to broaden the administration's control over the capital. It comes on the heels of the White House's move to deploy and arm National Guard troops in an effort to fight crime. Critics, though, have slammed the administration's handling as overreach and unnecessary.
They argue that cash bail disproportionately hurts low-income people, who may have more difficulty securing the money to pay bail for release from jail.
Trump, though, has criticized the practice, saying this month that it was a "disaster" and caused "so many problems came that we never had before."
"So they're watching us today, and if they don't learn their lesson, if they haven't studied us properly, because we're going to be very successful," Trump said of other cities this month.
The U.S. attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, claimed on Monday morning on "Fox & Friends" that cashless bail "is when all of the problems started." She criticized defendants' being released, asserting that "they are reoffending and they’re reoffending again."
D.C. has had a cashless bail system since 1992. The policy means judges decide whether people charged with crimes pose risks to others or the community at large or would pose flight risks if they were released without money for bail connected with their freedom. If judges make any of those determinations, they may opt to hold defendants in detention facilities before trial.
As part of the city government's own safety measures, the D.C. Council extended its pretrial detention policy in July.
Several states have eliminated or nearly eliminated cash bail, including Illinois, New Mexico and New Jersey.
National Guard troops in D.C. began carrying firearms Sunday evening. Also over the weekend, Trump threatened to deploy troops to Baltimore. Just days earlier, he floated sending the National Guard to Chicago and New York.
Trump's focus on how the capital is run is a stark departure from previous administrations' policies. He has enacted sweeping changes by surging National Guard and federal agents into the city, pushing enforcement agencies to clear homeless encampments and restoring a Confederate memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia.
Last week, Trump also announced that he had ordered attorneys to review Smithsonian museums, arguing that the storied museums were not positive enough about U.S. history, "where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been."
