Virginia Democrat congressional candidate Shannon Taylor’s record as Henrico County’s top prosecutor is drawing scrutiny over cases involving a campaign donor, longtime political ally Joe Morrissey, and Democrat Susanna Gibson, including instances in which Taylor’s office extended leniency, declined charges, or circulated a media inquiry internally shortly before Gibson’s attorney contacted the reporter.
Taylor, the Democrat nominee challenging incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, has defended her prosecutorial record and says her decisions have been based on the evidence and the law.
One instance involved John Trak, who was charged in 2018 with two felony drug offenses despite having multiple prior felony charges that made him ineligible for Virginia’s first-offender diversion program.
Taylor’s office nevertheless offered Trak a diversion intended to help him avoid a felony conviction. Taylor later defended the decision as part of a broader office policy meant to “encourage sobriety.”
Defense attorneys representing defendants with comparable criminal records, however, said Taylor’s office did not extend similar treatment to their clients. One attorney said prosecutors laughed when she requested comparable treatment for another defendant with previous felony convictions. In another case, prosecutors declined to reduce a felony charge even if the defendant successfully completed a drug-treatment program.
Trak had donated $1,500 to Taylor’s campaign for Commonwealth’s Attorney, his only known political contribution at the time. Taylor later returned the contribution, but not until Trak’s criminal case had been resolved.
Trak has since faced three additional felony charges, including two DWIs, and is currently a donor to Taylor’s congressional campaign.
Another instance involves former Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey, who has had political ties to Taylor dating back to at least 2011. The two appeared together at a campaign fundraiser, and Morrissey donated $500 to Taylor’s campaign.
Morrissey was involved in several controversies during his political career, including a 2013 conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor stemming from his relationship, when he was 55, with his then-17-year-old assistant, whom he later married.
In 2016, one of Morrissey’s clients accused him of exposing himself to her and repeatedly pressuring her for sex while he represented her.
After she rejected him, the woman said her case was transferred to another attorney who pressed her to accept a plea agreement because she “hadn’t paid enough” for Morrissey to continue representing her personally.
Morrissey later sent the woman sexually explicit messages, including repeated requests for “sexy pictures.” In another message, he asked her to come to his office and told her to “make sure you wear fresh panties and shave your p**** nice n smooth.”
Morrissey acknowledged sending what he described as “flirtatious” messages and said he did not deny the texts.
Taylor’s office ultimately declined to charge Morrissey in connection with the woman’s allegations, saying it found no information that violated Virginia law.
Virginia law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to use “obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language” over a telephone when it is done with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass.
In a September campaign ad, Taylor claimed her handling of the 2013 case showed she was willing to hold a political ally accountable, noting Morrissey had been “a supporter, even a donor of mine.”
“As Henrico’s top prosecutor I didn’t care that he was a Democrat or the pressure that I got to make it go away,” Taylor said. “So I called for a special prosecutor.” She added, “He broke the law. And he went to jail.” Morrissey was later indicted on felony counts including indecent liberties with a minor, possession and distribution of child pornography, and electronic solicitation of a minor, along with a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and ultimately served jail time.
Taylor also faced scrutiny over her office’s handling of questions surrounding Democrat Susanna Gibson during Gibson’s 2023 Virginia House campaign.
Gibson was revealed to have performed sex acts online while soliciting viewers for money, including offering specific acts in return for “tokens.” Gibson was also accused of offering to expose herself to hotel employees if viewers contributed enough tokens.
The Daily Wire contacted Taylor’s office to ask whether Gibson’s conduct could violate Virginia prostitution law.
Instead of responding to the outlet, Taylor circulated the inquiry internally and wrote that she would “handle” it.
Less than 20 minutes after Taylor’s office opened the email, Gibson’s attorney contacted the reporter and said he had learned about the forthcoming story from an undisclosed source.
Taylor’s office did not charge Gibson.
Virginia law prohibits “prostitution” and “commercial sexual conduct.”
A Taylor spokesperson told Breitbart News in response to a request for comment, “As Henrico’s top prosecutor, Shannon Taylor has always made decisions based on one thing: the evidence and the law. That’s why she has a 90% homicide conviction rate and has overseen a historic 86% drop in violent crime. She has prosecuted members of her own party and stood up to powerful Democratic lawmakers to do what’s right for Virginia. Rob Wittman is lying about Shannon because he can’t run on his own record and is cratering in the polls.”
Breitbart News previously reported that Taylor signed onto a 2021 letter stating that “tough on crime policies” had been an “anathema to justice” and backed criminal-justice policies including determining charges based on race, decriminalizing drugs, and limiting charges against career criminals. Taylor has also criticized immigration enforcement, including an ICE arrest at a Virginia courthouse after a case was dismissed, and said Border Patrol agents could be “running down the hallway” of public schools. She has also campaigned alongside Texas Democrat congressional candidate Bobby Pulido, who accused Border Patrol agents of being “White Nationalists” and argued that border security is motivated by racism.
Wittman told Breitbart News Daily in early October that Taylor has taken an overly lenient approach as prosecutor, calling her a “progressive prosecutor” and citing several cases. He said an accused child sex offender faced nine felony counts before Taylor decided to pursue the case as a misdemeanor, resulting in one year in jail and no sex-offender registration requirement. Wittman also pointed to a nursing home worker whom Taylor’s office declined to prosecute, saying the worker went on to abuse additional patients six months later. He further cited a neonatal intensive care nurse accused of abusing eight premature infants, saying, “This individual should have been prosecuted with a 45-year sentence. My opponent decided to reduce the sentencing down to three years,” adding, “That’s four months for every baby that was abused by this individual.” Wittman also said Taylor reduced the charges to misdemeanors in roughly 75 percent of 177 felony assault cases involving police officers.
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