There’s concern a federal grant awarded to Cumberland County could be blocked by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

The $2.5 million grant would allow for the testing of a backlog of 500 sexual assault kits.

Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris told Matt Gagnon On The WGAN Morning News that the work Musk and his group are doing is far outside constitutional bounds.

 

“All of the work that’s being reviewed right now by Elon Musk’s group is really in doubt,” Sartoris said. “I think a lot of grants are up in the air, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen with this grant.”

Sartoris made the comment while appearing on the WGAN Mornings News Monday.

“There is no quasi-Executive slash Congressional group that gets to pick and choose what gets funded and what doesn’t get funded, as Elon Musk’s group is,” said Sartoris. “No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, I think we all know that this democracy is about fealty to the Constitution I swore to uphold, and this is an unconstitutional power reach, and it’s going to have very direct local implications.”

The grant would allow approximately 500 sexual assault examination kits currently stored in Cumberland County at various law enforcement departments to be transported for testing out of state during the three-year grant period.

Sartoris also discussed recent crime trends while appearing on the WGAN Morning News, noting a decrease in overall violent crime but a concerning increase in gun-related crimes by juveniles.

She highlighted the challenges of managing repeat offenders with multiple criminal cases and the impact of systemic issues like mental health and substance abuse on the criminal justice system.

She also addressed the lingering effects of COVID-19 on bail practices and the criminal justice system’s staffing and resource constraints.