Judge Rejects DOJ Subpoenas Against Tim Walz, Minnesota Officials
“Initiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents or to coerce them into taking official action-particularly official action that the federal government cannot directly require those political opponents to take-is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use the grand-jury process.”
U.S. District Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz threw out subpoenas against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other officials regarding immigration.
“This course of events- in and of itself-establishes beyond reasonable dispute that the subpoenas were a part of a broader campaign to coerce state and local officials in Minnesota to assist the Trump administration in its enforcement of immigration laws,” wrote Schiltz. “And, of course, this campaign played out against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s well-established history of using criminal investigations to retaliate against and pressure the President’s political and personal adversaries.”
President Donald Trump and his administration initiated Operation Metro Surge, an initiative to enforce immigration laws in major Minnesota cities. It placed over 3,000 agents in the state.
We all know how that turned out. The situation descended into chaos, leading Trump to oust Kristi Noem as DHS secretary and to appoint Border Czar Tom Homan.
Prosecutors issued six subpoenas for records from the offices of Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and the boards of commissioners in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
Schiltz said the court only needed to address one reason to reject the subpoenas: “the moving parties’ contention that the subpoenas were issued as part of an unconstitutional effort to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration laws and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”
Schiltz determined that Trump used his powers to target Walz and others.
“Initiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents or to coerce them into taking official action-particularly official action that the federal government cannot directly require those political opponents to take-is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use the grand-jury process,” wrote Schiltz.
The judge came to this conclusion because “the evidence that the challenged subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons is overwhelming.”
Schiltz also pointed out the DHS could not “identify a single plausible investigatory justification for the subpoenas.”
In fact, the judge found that the subpoenas were “extraordinarily broad” and sought to compel the officials to hand over “constitutionally protected conduct.”
“The fact that connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation range from extremely weak to nonexistent only adds to the overwhelming evidence that these subpoenas were not issued to investigate, but to harass, coerce, and retaliate,” said Schiltz.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Apparently there are those above the law: Democrats and Muslims. The duality of an asserted $9B in fraud, the vast body of which was Federal money is a crime that has nothing to do with immigration per se, but rather the government, State and Local, aligning itself with immigrant fraudsters and religious fanatics. I think we all have the right to know allowed these obvious frauds to continue and why.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant…
The fix is in with the Minnesota courts, state and federal.
No, this is an appropriate and proper use of executive power. What the judge is doing by impugning the motives of the chief executive is a grossly improper and unethical attempt to usurp executive constitutional prerogatives. If this judge wants to exercise executive prosecutorial discretion, he should resign from the bench and run for office. What a disgrace.
Why have an executive branch? After all, the Federal District Court judiciary is the real power center and believes they make all decisions, especially those that reverse Trump.
TY Concise.
The Minnesota Mob: Walz, Frey, Ellison, Schiltz, and the boards of commissioners in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
RICO lawsuit time.
Out of control judge that should be sanctioned and recused for his obvious bias and disrespect of the Grand Jury. His certainty is the type that leads to tyranny.
Nothing a member of the Leftist nomenklatura does can be deemed illegal. At which point do the American people lose all confidence in the validity of the legal system?
Subotai Bahadur
Public confidence? No, leftist confidence is this judge’s objective. The left seeks essentially power over non-Marxists, regardless of “public” sentiment. The leftist judge’s ex cathedra order, supported by leftist narrative, is simply another display of this.
I see the system is working as planned.
Is there anything in MN that isn’t corrupt?
RINO Bush appointee. Same clown globalist president that gave us the unpatriotic Patriot Act.
Another Unelected, black-robed, tyrannical, inferior-court judge covers up for the anti-American Left.
I certainly hope that this is a decision vulnerable to appeal, and the the US DOJ does appeal.
They must appeal. This decision cannot stand.
You’re channeling Branca…(That’s a good thing, IMO)
Another rouge judge with no appreciation of the separation of powers inherent to the Constitution. Anything to gum up the works for this President. John Roberts is always missing when these judges usurp their roles.
The word you were looking for is: ROGUE
Rouge is a color.
Rouge is also an abrasive.
“Initiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents… is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use the grand-jury process.”
Whatzamatter — Alvin wasn’t available?
Aaargh, not Alvin… Merchan.
Merchan and the Chipmunks.
It’s MN and given a few facts: the SOS refuses to cooperated with DOJ and release voter records;
Mayor Frey, Keith Ellison, Walz and company refused to work with feds – result, paid protestors plus others who only collect government $$$ to live as a very disproportionate % of people in MN ended up doing dirty work. It’s a wonder NICE showed the patience they did.
Yes, it’s sad but when evil is protected by “judges” things go south quickly.
Appeal?
I sure as hell hope so.
I believe the judge mischaracterized the purpose of the investigation. I don’t believe it was meant to coerce MN officials into supporting ICE operations. I think it was an investigation to see how much involvement State officials had in the protests (which were positive actions taken to undermine the authority of the federal government, possibly even to the point of being seditious), which would include the States’ refusal to apply its own LE organization against riots, property destruction, assaults, and other crimes that are within the State’s jurisdiction to both interdict and to prosecute. Although the State’s inaction is passive, an investigation could reveal a motive that might possibly tip simple passivity into the realm of obstruction of justice.
Exactly, and the reaction of the MN officials only adds wood to the fire. The same people who proclaimed in public how law enforcement was overwhelmed and doing all they could to prevent crimes were in fact issuing orders directly to appointed LEO superiors which ran completely counter to their public pronouncements. Unfortunately, even if the phone and email records reveal direct involvement between these public officials and the criminals throwing the riots, encouraging their behavior and protecting them from the consequences…nothing will happen, and none of them will go to jail.
So fraudsters and traitors are immune to prosecution if the admin isn’t a member of the same party?
Why SHOULDN’T the people drag Tim from his home now?
Nothing here some tar and feathers couldn’t solve.
Where is our resident ‘lawyer’ to, once again, invent some legalese blather that proves the the right is, sadly, incorrect again.
Something that justifies the judge throwing out proof of crimes because the plaintiffs had the wrong feelings when they discovered those crimes. Or were thinking other kinds of wrongthink.
Where is Milhouse on this decision? I’d give him the benefit of the doubt for his absence, but I will bet a hot fudge sundae he will support the judge’s decision.
Shhh. Don’t wake him up. He will most definitely weigh in heavily on the judge’s misguided, TDS inflamed ruling.
Bush Jr appointee. More evidence the ongoing judicial takeover of the entire Federal government is Uniparty in nature.
Judges in black robes…they are the plague that has fallen on the nation.
We the people are at their mercy.
As a number of critics have already pointed out, a “republic of unelected judges” is a contradiction.
Blatantly political decision by the district court judge. The president of the United States is required by the federal constitution to “faithfully execute the laws,” and that includes immigration laws, whether or not a particular federal district court judge would prefer that these laws not be enforced. And, political opposition by state officers to the federal government does not immunize state officials from civil and criminal accountability.