GOP presidential candidate Elder, in Iowa, touts commission to oversee prosecutors

DES MOINES — A new national political action committee is calling on Iowa lawmakers to set up a commission that would investigate and discipline county attorneys who refuse to enforce certain laws.

Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder spoke on behalf of the PAC at a Des Moines news conference and began by criticizing local prosecutors in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

“The number one job of the government is to protect people and property and the number one job of government is not being fulfilled,” Elder said.

Elder and the group, though, are starting their national campaign for a crackdown on local prosecutors in Iowa, which hosts the kick off event of the GOP presidential campaign, and Elder criticized Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham. Graham said as she campaigned for the job last year that she wants to end prosecution for first time offenders caught with a small amount of marijuana.

“The soft on crime DA knows she’s being watched and, so far, she’s not done anything egregious,” Elder said.

Neither Graham, nor an official with the Iowa County Attorneys Association were available for comment on the idea of a new commission in Iowa to police local prosecutors. Elder’s next appearance for the Enforce the Law PAC will be in New Hampshire, which hosts the first presidential primary. The group’s initial proposal is patterned after a Georgia law.

“One of the things that this commission will do is it will serve as a deterrent,” Elder said. “Even if no action is taken, the fact that these DAs know that something like this exists and there’s a possibility that they could be removed I think will make them behave far more responsibly.”

A spokesman for the group said the draft of their proposal for the 2024 Iowa legislature is not yet ready and the commission concept will be adjusted to fit the legal framework in each state. The spokesman also said Elder is not a paid spokesman for the PAC, which has not yet filed a report with the Federal Election Commission.