Interim U.S. Attorney Darin Smith committed grand-jury misconduct in Wyoming case, calling defendants 'murderers'

On March 15, 2026, in Casper, interim U.S. Attorney Darin Smith committed misconduct while presenting a case to a federal grand jury against nine defendants facing firearm, drug-distribution, and child-pornography charges. Smith told the grand jurors the defendants were "bad guys" and "murderers" before any evidence was presented, said their deliberations "won't take long" in a way that signaled the strength of the government's case, and distributed his business card while inviting improper ex parte contact with jurors. He also engaged in off-the-record conversations with jurors during breaks between indictments.

Chief U.S. District Judge Kelly Rankin and Judges Alan B. Johnson and Scott Skavdahl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming later reviewed the grand-jury record and found the conduct "deeply concerning," writing that the misconduct "began with some of the first words spoken to the grand jury" and "continued to penetrate the proceedings." On May 15, 2026, the three judges dismissed the resulting nine indictments without prejudice, meaning prosecutors retained the option of returning to a new grand jury.

Smith, a former Wyoming state senator with no prior criminal-trial experience, was nominated to the U.S. Attorney post by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and had attended the January 6, 2021 events at the U.S. Capitol, though he says he did not enter the building. The Senate confirmed him to the post on May 18, 2026, on a party-line vote grouped with 48 other Trump nominees, days after the misconduct finding became public.

Updates

2026-05-15 — Federal judges dismissed the nine indictments over Smith's grand-jury misconduct [1, 3, 4]

Chief Judge Kelly Rankin and Judges Alan B. Johnson and Scott Skavdahl dismissed the nine indictments without prejudice, staying the order until the following Wednesday or until Smith declined to contest it.

2026-05-20 — A new grand jury re-indicted the nine defendants [7]

Court filings showed a newly empaneled grand jury returned new indictments against the same nine defendants, allowing the prosecutions to proceed under charges free of the tainted proceeding.