Written by Vincent Cain
Loudoun County’s attorney Buta Biberaj said that she has no plans to save herself from a legal battle that would remove School Board Chair Brenda Sheridan, despite a judge disqualifying Biberaj from a similar case against a former school board member. This is also the case despite being allegedly involved in some of the claims against Sheridan.
The organization which filed a petition to remove Sheridan, Fight for Schools, has also filed another petition to disqualify Biberaj from the case. The group’s executive director, Ian Prior, said that she has conflicts of interest in this case.
Petitioners must collect signatures and bring the case before a judge to remove an elected official in Virginia. If a judge approves the petition, the commonwealth’s attorney prosecutes the case. In this case, Biberaj is the attorney in question. She received $861,039 from the George Soros-funded Justice and Public Safety PAC in her election in 2019.
Prior said in a statement, “It is necessary to have faith that the prosecutor in this removal proceeding has no actual or perceived conflicts, that she will go where the evidence takes her, and litigate this case with appropriate prosecutorial zeal.”
“In this case, Commonwealth Attorney Biberaj was very involved in two of the very serious incidents that gave rise to the recall. There is simply no way that the people of Loudoun County can be confident in a fair process for the removal of Brenda Sheridan unless Ms. Biberaj either recuses herself, or is disqualified based on her conflicts of interest, and an independent prosecutor is appointed by the Court.” Biberaj first stirred controversy when she pursued charges against Scott Smith, a Loudoun County Parent who was arrested at a school board meeting. Smith’s daughter had been raped in a bathroom by a male student who identified as “gender-fluid” and the school board had attempted to cover it up. Smith got angry at the board and had to be restrained. Biberaj pursued charges on Smith despite the charges Smith was being charged with are usually never pursued and are dropped.
The petition to remove Sheridan contains 11 claims against the school board chair, of which five involve a private Facebook group of which Biberaj was a member and one that includes a decision regarding a sexual assault case.
Photo Cred: Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
