Arrest warrant issued, $400K bond set for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill

An arrest warrant for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill was issued Thursday, minutes after a 16-count felony indictment was handed down in New Orleans Criminal District Court.

The Republican state official’s bond totals $400,000, records show, which include $25,000 for each felony charge. Murrill is accused of eight counts of malfeasance in office and eight counts of intimidation.

A New Orleans grand jury reviewed evidence this week about whether Murrill sought to intimidate local New Orleans public officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, sources said. Murrill told the officials in May that they had imperiled their jobs by pushing back on a new law to combine the city’s criminal and district clerks of court.

The jury returned a bill of indictment for malfeasance and intimidation in Judge Leon Roche’s courtroom Thursday afternoon.

Special counsel Laurie White announced the indictment outside of the courthouse Thursday, adding that prosecutors are waiting on the state’s attorney general to post bond. White was tapped to handle the probe after Williams, who was involved in the city leaders’ spat with Murrill at several turns, recused himself.

While speaking to reporters, White said she believed Murrill’s attorneys had already arrived at the courthouse. She could not say where Murrill would be processed.

Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and Murrill Ally, tweeted on X that he planned to pardon her.

“Our fabulous (Murrill) will not have to worry about having her reputation tarnished by this kangaroo grand jury or the Orleans Kangaroo court as I will pardon her as fast as the law allows,” he said.

Attorney General Liz Murrill

"After taking on violent crime and entrenched corruption in New Orleans, it’s no surprise the status quo is looking for ways to stop me.

This unprecedented action and the corrupt indictments spawned from it are retaliatory, meritless, and unconstitutional. After confidential information was illegally leaked to members of the press by the grand jury or the improperly appointed, unqualified special prosecutor, there are now indications that the court handcuffed and locked out members of the media—and threatened them with contempt—in clear violation of Louisiana law. It is beyond ironic that the improperly appointed special prosecutor, who called my office and violated the confidentiality of the grand jury proceedings herself, claims protecting confidentiality justified closing the courtroom. And the grand jury that leaked information like a sinking ship hardly seemed concerned about privacy.

I will be immediately filing an emergency supervisory writ with the Louisiana Supreme Court. Hopefully this will be sorted out quickly.

I will not back down. I will continue enforcing the law, fighting corruption, and doing the job the people of Louisiana elected me to do."

https://x.com/AGLizMurrill/status/2072818377471783292

Selections from today’s Supreme Court statement:

In this case the Attorney General makes a compelling argument concerning the disturbing defects in the grand jury proceedings and in the trial court’s handling of those proceedings. This indictment appears to turn the law on its head and flows from what appear to be extraordinary procedural defects and improprieties.

By all public accounts the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court violated express provisions of state law requiring that grand jury returns occur in the public eye, “in open court.” La C.Cr.P. art. 383. Numerous media outlets have stated that reporters were handcuffed and removed from these otherwise public proceedings.

This dispute arises from the Attorney General’s defense of a recent duly enacted state law that abolished the office of Orleans Parish Criminal District Clerk of Court. Act 15 of the 2026 Regular Session was part of a package of bills directed at bringing the number of Orleans Parish judicial offices more in line with the other parishes of Louisiana. See e.g. Acts 746 and 748 of the 2026 Regular Session. This Court already held that Act 15 was a constitutional exercise of the legislature’s authority. Crockett v. State of Louisiana c/w Napoleon v. City of New Orleans, 2026-CD-00594 (La. 6/1/26), -— So.3d -—. The seat abolished would otherwise have been held by Mr. Calvin Duncan.

Laurie White, the special prosecutor appointed in the instant matter, was previously Mr. Duncan’s attorney. Ms. White is also currently being defended by Attorney General Murrill’s office in a sexual harassment suit against Ms. White. The likely conflicts of interest precluding her involvement in this matter, if accurately stated, should have been obvious.

The Attorney General raises significant constitutional and legal issues with the potential application of La. R.S. 14:122 to this situation. She argues that she was merely performing her constitutional duty to defend the state’s law and that her legal interpretation of that law was correct. She also contends that this particular criminal statute requires violence, force, extortionate threats, or true threats as defined by La. C.Cr.P. art. 14:122, which requires that those threats be unlawful or include a threat of bodily harm or death.

While the record before this Court is undeveloped, there is considerable support for the view that the Attorney General is likely to succeed on the merits of a motion to quash this indictment on either a legal basis or due to apparent procedural irregularities. She obviously also suffers irreparable harm by allowing this matter to proceed without these important issues being addressed.

SOURCE: https://www.lasc.org/opinions/2026/26-0865.KD.PC.pdf

The parish attorneys threw out reporters they disliked.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.