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

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. ...
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storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

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.
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storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

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

and now this
apnews.com/article/ice-ar… 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.

Accused J6 pipebomber Brian Cole is claiming that he is entitled to release due to govt’s failure to obtain within the allotted time period either a proper grand jury indictment or a judge’s probable cause finding after a “preliminary hearing.” Odd situation. ...
1/10 Under Federal Rules, absent defense consent or “extraordinary circumstances,” you can’t detain someone > 14 days without a finding of probable cause, either by indictment or public preliminary hearing. Prosecutors prefer indictments because they’re secret. ...
/2

Re USA v Abrego Garcia: A quick summary of what Judge Crenshaw’s newly unsealed order from 12/3 shows & means: He reviewed ~3,000 govt documents in chambers. Most were irrelevant, but he ordered a few dozen key ones turned over to defense. ...
1/7
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… US Atty McGuire had previously sworn that he alone decided to indict Abrego Garcia. But emails show, per Crenshaw, that @DAGToddBlanche's Office told McGuire that indicting was a “top priority”; they wanted it “sooner rather than later”; & they even oversaw its content. ...
2/7

Judge Crenshaw wants to make public his 12/3 ruling discussing the key role Dep AG Todd Blanche’s office played in deciding to prosecute Abrego Garcia. But Crenshaw is giving govt 'til 12/30 to appeal his rulings rejecting govt's atty-client & other privilege claims ...
1/4
Due to a redacting error in a defense brief, we already know that Crenshaw’s 12/3 ruling, still under seal, concluded that Blanche’s associate, Aakash Singh, played “a leading role” in deciding to prosecute Abrego. ...
2/4

In sealed order issued 12/3, Judge Crenshaw found that @DAGToddBlanche's deputy, Aakash Singh, played a “leading role in the govt’s decision to prosecute” Abrego Garcia. Abrego’s attys’ failed to redact that language in a brief, correcting the error shortly thereafter...
1/2
... The DAG office’s role, Abrego’s attys argue, conflicts with multiple assertions from US Atty McBride, who initially claimed that the Office of DAG was "not involved.” Later, when DAG's role emerged, McGuire said said it was just “appropriate oversight.” ...
/2

Today’s Third Circuit ruling that Alina Habba was unlawfully appointed casts doubt on @AGPamBondi 's back-up theory for Halligan—the notion that Bondi could appoint her a “special atty” (under 28 USC § 515) who could do everything a US atty could. ...
1/4
... The situations were not identical. Halligan’s original appt was under 28 USC § 546; Habba’s was under Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Still, key gist—that a “special atty” appt under § 515 can’t circumvent Congress’s more specific statutory scheme—is the same. ...
2/3

If you read the precedents Abrego Garcia is citing in seeking release from detention, you begin to realize the unreported horrors Trump's DHS/ICE is quietly committing throughout the country. Take Zavvar v Scott, for instance. ...
1/7
law.justia.com/cases/federal/… Reza Zavvar, 52, came to the US from Iran when he was 12 (so 40 yrs ago). He was granted asylum & permanent residence. Then, in the 1990s, when he was in his 20s, he had 2 misdemeanor convictions for possession of pot. ...
/2

Judge Immergut (my new favorite judge) issued her 31-page opinion, barring federalization of 200 National Guard troops in Portland, <48 hrs after entering the case. It’s a model of restrained but powerful prose & reasoning. Read it yourself ...
1/3
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… Without hyperventilating, she lays out in ¶ 1 the huge stakes here. The case is about "3 of the most fundamental principles in our constitutional democracy": * federalism; * the relationship between the military & domestic law enforcement; * and judicial review. ...
/2

Given that @DowJones is not seeking a merger that @BrendanCarrFCC can block, Trump’s suit against the @WSJ (re the Epstein Birthday book note) seems destined for swift dismissal + assessment of attys fees. ...
1/6
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… Yesterday, @WSJ moved to dismiss on 3 seemingly iron-clad grounds: The article is (1) true; (2) not defamatory; & (3) lacks any whiff of “actual malice.” It’s true in that it only describes a note “bearing Trump’s name” & includes his denials in the subhead & in 3 ¶s of text.
/2

Last night, in the Ghana pass-thru case, Judge Chutkan found that the govt’s actions appeared to be part of a “pattern & widespread effort to evade [its] legal obligations by doing indirectly what it cannot do directly.” But she denied relief due to likely lack of jurisdiction ...
1/4 She noted that immigration judges have found that the 5 plaintiffs face “persecution, torture, or death” if returned to their home countries, as one already has been. US officials allegedly told plaintiffs on planes to Ghana that they would ultimately be sent to home countries.
/2

Judge Chutkan just finished a phone conference hearing in D.A. v. Noem. Plaintiffs allege the govt is sending African aliens to Ghana knowing Ghana will forward them to home countries where US courts have barred govt from sending them directly ...
1/5
courtlistener.com/docket/7132371… ... due to reasonable fear of torture or persecution. Judge Chutkan fears she lacks jurisdiction—4 plaintiffs are already in Ghana & one has already been forwarded to Gambia—or that she should transfer the case to Judge Murphy in Boston as part of the DVD class action on 3d country removals. ...
/2

At 2pm there will be a preliminary injunction hearing in the Guatemalan children case (LGML v. Noem). I hope to live-blog here for @lawfare , as will colleague @AnnaBower on another platform. For bracing & thorough background, see Anna's piece here:
/1 lawfaremedia.org/article/the-ju… If you recall, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan entered a temporary restraining order 8/31, barring the removals— govt calls them "reunifications"—of Guatemalan children ages 10-17. Govt has admitted intent to deport 327 children, with the first 76 booked for departure at 10:45am ET on 8/31. ...
/2

In weekend filing, govt admitted its shocking timeline for deporting Guatemalan children, ages 10-17. Just before midnight on Saturday, Labor Day Weekend, it told caregivers to have children prepared for departure within 2 hrs (4 if in foster care). ...
1/8 ... That meant packing:
•a 40-pound suitcase
•30-day supply of prescriptions/medications
•2 sack lunches (nut-free) ...
2/8

On Thurs (while I was on vacation), @ACLU
sought full DC Circuit review of the splintered panel decision that would vacate the Judge Boasberg order that found probable cause to believe DOJ attys committed criminal contempt in the JGG case. ...
1/5storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… ... Recall that on 8/8 all 3 panelists agreed that Boasberg’s order was not appealable, yet 2 Trump appointees, on different theories, voted to grant mandamus. @ACLU says the outcome “would have dire consequences for the Judiciary’s ability to enforce its orders.” ...
/2

On Friday, in a 34-page unanimous ruling, the 1st Circuit denied govt a stay of Judge Young’s July 2 order declaring NIH’s cancellation of 100s of research contracts as “breathtakingly arbitrary & capricious.” Some interesting things...

1/5storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… If you recall, Judge Young found that DOGE had “force-fed” the cancellations to NIH, drafting cancellation letters, which no NIH scientist reviewed & which the NIH director approved “within [2] minutes”. ...
/2

A thread about DOJ’s astoundingly misleading responses to the 27-page Reuveni letter (since backed by 150pp of corroborating texts/emails) alleging conduct approaching contempt in 3 cases: JGG, Abrego, DVD.
Let’s examine @DAGToddBlanche’s & @AGPamBondi’s responses. ...
1/9 Reuveni’s letter says 5 others (but not Blanche) were at the 3/14/25 meeting where Bove allegedly said they “would need to consider” telling courts “fuck you.” In Blanche's denial, he claims he was present for whole meeting—but it appears he wasn’t. ...
/2

After today’s 5th Circuit argument in the Alien Enemies Act case WMM v Trump ( formerly AARP) it appeared that at least 2 of the 3 judges would approve the validity of Trump’s Alien Enemies Act proclamation. Unclear what due process they’ll afford targeted aliens. ...
1/6 ... Judge Andrew Oldham (Trump appointee) doubted that a court could "countermand" virtually any aspect of Trump's decree. He even doubted that aliens had a right to deny their membership in Tren de Aragua, tho SCOTUS has said they do. ...
2/6