DOJ Targets 7 Minnesota Federal Judges Over Immigration Criticism, Seeks DHS Case Recusals
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 30
DOJ Targets 7 Minnesota Federal Judges Over Immigration Criticism, Seeks DHS Case Recusals
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 30
Summary
The Justice Department filed judicial conduct complaints Wednesday against seven of Minnesota’s eight active federal judges, arguing their Sept. 17 New York Times interviews on the state’s immigration crackdown showed partisan bias.
The complaint to the 8th U.S. Circuit also asks the judges to recuse themselves from pending and future Department of Homeland Security cases, an unusual step Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department took only after careful review.
Blanche cited comments that accused officials of ignoring court orders and, in Judge John Tunheim’s case, failing to target dangerous criminals, saying the judges discussed matters still before the courts and threatened the rule of law.
Judge Patrick Shiltz immediately pushed back, citing a February ethics advisory saying federal judges may speak on judicial independence and the rule of law; Trump appointee Nancy Brasel had similarly defended the interviews.
The move deepens the Trump administration’s clash with the federal judiciary after courts blocked parts of its agenda and Chief Justice John Roberts recently warned that personal attacks on judges "has got to stop."