Quick update on tense dispute between Judge Cannon & govt in USA v Trump (MaL): ln trying to persuade Cannon to reconsider her order last week to unseal identities of >24 “participants” in probe, including some witnesses & their statements ... 1/5
... the govt showed her, under seal & ex parte (not to defense), an FBI 302 report it said (below) showed threat/harassment of a witness in this case. Yesterday, over govt objection, Judge Cannon ordered it turned over to defense *today* tho leaving it sealed from public. ...
/2
... Govt claims the documents Cannon ordered unsealed last week “will expose witnesses and others to intolerable and needless risks.” Says the material includes statements of potential witnesses which, by statute, need not be turned over till witness testifies ...
/3
... Wanting to streamline case, govt turned them over early under protective order, not imagining they’d be made public before trial, if it all, it says. Defendants had taken “no position” on govt’s proposed redactions, but said govt hadn’t met “burden” to keep them sealed...
/4
Judge has given defense till 2/23 to respond to govt’s motion to reconsider. Govt must meet high standard to win a motion reconsider: either “clear error” or “manifest injustice.” Govt claiming both.
/5-end
To be clear, the documents ordered unsealed last week have not yet been unsealed. That's what the govt's motion to reconsider is trying to keep from happening.
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The @ACLU has filed a class action damages suit against federal & state officers over an Idaho immigration raid last October. 200 armed officers raided a horse-race festival, detaining 400 Latinos for 4 hrs. All adults & many teens ziptied & searched. 1/8 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Complaint alleges 200 officers descended on the families, guns drawn, with a helicopter, 2 drones, 5 armed vehicles, rifles, tasers, pepper balls. They allegedly grouped the Latinos (mostly ethnically Mexican) by skin color as a proxy for presumptive citizenship. No water, few bathrooms.
2/7
Zipties cut into wrists. When a 15yo said they were too tight, an agent allegedly tightened them further. Adults were searched & items from their pockets were put in plastic bags strung around their necks. ... 3/7
The transcript of the MN hearing where an AUSA said “This job sucks” is remarkable for more reasons than that. It’s a searing portrait of a crisis perpetrated by depraved & oblivious high-level officials. Read it all. ... 1/7 documentcloud.org/documents/2687…
Judge Jerry Blackwell’s own comments deserve attention: Unlawful detention “falls on the heads of those who have done nothing wrong to justify it. ... The overwhelming majority of the 100s seen by this Court have been found to be lawfully present ... in the country.” 2/7
“[Y]ou cannot ... detain first & sort out lawful authority later. ... Continued detention is not lawful just because ... an operation has expanded beyond the Government's capacity to execute it lawfully.” ... 3/7
Attys for class of refugees have asked Judge Tunheim in MN to hold govt in civil contempt for alleged failure to comply with his 1/28 order to unconditionally release refugees detained under a new DHS policy that, they say, departs from 45 yrs of practice. 1/4 documentcloud.org/documents/2680…
In Jan. DHS started subjecting 5,600 MN refugees to warrantless mandatory detention 1 year from admission if they hadn't yet become permanent legal residents. On 1/28 Judge Tunheim issued TRO to stop the policy & immediately release those detained. ...
/2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Refugees allege DHS dragged feet & imposed onerous conditions on those released, retaining their IDs & work permits. DHS has moved to dissolve the TRO, alleging “detain-and-inspect” policy is lawful & mandated by statute below, even if never before interpreted that way. /3
The Trump Adm is arresting Don Lemon and overcharging disruptive protesters at Cities Church to posture as if it’s protecting Christians. It’s not. DHS is staging disruptive ops at other churches, at least one of which has had to go online. ... 1/4
ICE vehicles commandeered that multicultural church’s private-property parking lot for staging purposes; staff experienced burning eyes from nearby chemical irritants & pepper balls, per declaration of MN AG investigator.
/2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Other church services—a healthcare clinic and preschool—have had to shut down or go online, per declaration of MN AG investigator, based on interview with the pastor).
/3
In seeking a fed court order to stop fed agents from “destroying or altering evidence” re the Pretti shooting, granted last night by a Trump-appointed judge, MN’s investigatory chief said feds blocked his inquiry for 1st time in his 20+ yrs—even after he got a search warrant to inspect the public space.
1/5
MN’s brief asserts that federal agents left the scene several hrs after the shooting, “allowing the perimeter to collapse & potentially spoiling evidence,” a “sharp departure from normal best practices” that may’ve “directly led to the destruction of evidence.” 2/5
Here’s the declaration of Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) superintendent Drew Evans.
memo announcing new policy shown only to select DHS officials, shared with some employees who were then told to read it and return it and not to take notes.
memo summarized here in whistleblower letter. allegedly issued on may 12 by acting ICE director Todd Lyons. documentcloud.org/documents/2649…