Judge orders immigration officials to free key witness in deadly ICE shooting
Source: Politics - CBSNews.com · Bias: Center
Summary
A federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release a key witness in the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston.
Judge orders immigration officials to free key witness in deadly ICE shooting
Center
A federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release a key witness in the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston.
Across the country, federal judges are calling out Department of Justice lawyers, questioning in unprecedented ways whether they can be trusted to tell the truth or uphold centuries-old legal norms.From Washington, D.C., to Rhode Island to Oregon, federal judges nominated by presidents from both parties, including Donald Trump, have zeroed in on what’s called “the presumption of regularity.” It essentially means that judges must presume that the government — whether it be federal prosecutors, an IRS auditor or an FBI agent — did their jobs according to the rules and in good faith.Until Trump’s second term, which has seen an exodus of veteran DOJ lawyers and a transformative shift in priorities from issues like enforcing civil rights to instead defending a mass deportation agenda, this foundational tenet had rarely been discussed in federal courtrooms, former judges, lawyers and scholars say. But as Trump’s DOJ exhibits behavior that judges have called “unlawful,” “unethical,” “unseemly” or otherwise dishonest, adherence to that bedrock standard is now being questioned.ProPublica reviewed hundreds of cases since Trump retook the White House in which judges criticized the actions of DOJ lawyers and found more than 40 in which they explicitly referenced the presumption of regularity. In many cases, judges have expressed frustration that they can no longer take the government at its word.“Judges simply don’t believe the representations that are being made by United States attorneys, assistant United States attorneys and the like,” said John E. Jones, a former federal judge for the District of Pennsylvania, appointed by President George W. Bush.“I don’t think in the annals of the Department of Justice, in the history of jurisprudence in the United States, we’ve ever seen anything close to this.”In Rhode Island in May, Trump-appointed federal Judge Mary McElroy rebuked federal prosecutors’ conduct — saying they withheld information and misrepresented facts — as she quashed their requests for a subpoena in their investigation into a hospital’s care of transgender children. The judge alleged the DOJ had inappropriately claimed its investigation was operating out of Texas to secure subpoenas targeting sensitive medical records of patients in another state and that it falsely claimed the Rhode Island hospital hadn’t communicated with the department.“The discrepancy between the honorable conduct expected of federal prosecutors and DOJ’s tactics in this case is unsettling,” McElroy wrote. “The Court cannot help but share the sentiment that ‘[t]he presumption of regularity that has previously been extended to [DOJ] that it could be taken at its word — with little doubt about its intentions and stated purposes — no longer holds.’”Judges have emitted a chorus of condemnations against the legal basis for some of Trump’s political agenda, including the mass firings of federal workers, an immigration dragnet that has imprisoned hundreds of U.S. citizens and retribution campaigns against the president’s political enemies.In doing so, federal judges are imbuing forceful language into their orders in a way that scholars say signals to the Trump administration that the third branch of government is losing trust in the Justice Department.“I don’t think in the annals of the Department of Justice, in the history of jurisprudence in the United States, we’ve ever seen anything close to this.” Former federal Judge John E. Jones, a George W. Bush appointeeFederal judges rarely grant interviews, and none of the judges who criticized the Justice Department in their orders granted interviews to ProPublica.In a statement, a spokesperson for the DOJ said its attorneys are “dedicated public servants who represent the United States with integrity, in accordance with their ethical obligations and the law.”“The Department stands firmly behind the professionalism and good faith of its attorneys,” said spokesperson Kiersten Pels. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.Federal judges have found that the government filed statements generated by artificial intelligence that referenced nonexistent case law, wrote briefs that ignored facts and filed declarations with inaccurate dates, the ProPublica review shows.In one case, the government included documentation claiming a detainee had been convicted of marijuana possession in 2009. That detainee, the judge noted, citing what she called the government’s persistent “sloppiness,” would have been 4 years old.“This Court will no longer blindly accept statements of fact from [the U.S. government] unless they are made under oath by an individual with personal knowledge,” Judge Christine O’Hearn, a President Joe Biden appointee, wrote in New Jersey while reviewing a writ of habeas corpus petition filed by a man who claimed he was unlawfully imprisoned by immigration officers.
Controversial move to classify Iran war as two separate campaigns criticised as attempt to minimise casualty figures. Plus, the man who started an animal shelter after a dog saved his lifeDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning. A controversial move by the Pentagon to reclassify casualties in the Iran war as being killed in “overseas 0perations” is being taken by US military veterans as a sign of disrespect for the dead.Michael E Smith, a retired US rear admiral who completed combat tours in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, said: “It’s such a huge disrespect for the families. To claim that they weren’t killed as a result of the war – oh, it was just overseas operations – is just ludicrous.”What changes did the Department of Defense make? The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), a military database for displaying casualties, introduced a new casualty category labeled “Overseas Operations” for personnel killed and wounded “starting July 7”. That splits the count from the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran into effectively two different campaigns.How is the administration justifying the change? The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the president to end military operations within 60 days unless Congress authorizes an extension, which it has not. The Trump administration has argued that the April ceasefire with Iran paused the clock on 1 May for the conflict’s initial period. The separate casualty count beginning on 7 July follows that interpretation. Continue reading...
Police identified a 15-year-old and a 19-year-old as gunmen behind the deadly shooting that turned a Seattle food festival into a chaotic nightmare on Sunday. Authorities also said they are looking for “a third possible suspect” in the shooting. The two teens opened fire in a large crowd that included young children, resulting in the ...
The terrorist murder and maiming of people at a Berlin Pride festival on Saturday should not be seen as separate from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s empty condemnation of a man who stabbed two people in Manhattan shortly before that while shouting “Allahu akbar” and “Justice for Islam.” It is also inextricably connected to […]
In an update to the Seattle shooting that took three lives Sunday evening, it turns out the initially arrested suspect is just 15 years old — and police now are saying there were two other suspects: one who died at the scene and was an acquaintance of the teenage arrestee, and another unknown suspect, the Associated Press reported."Based on the evidence at the scene, investigators believe" the 15-year-old "and one of the deceased engaged in a gunfight with at least one other unknown suspect," according to a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, the AP said.'I heard bang, bang, bang, and I heard yelling, straight yelling.'Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference that the arrested 15-year-old was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault ahead of a Monday afternoon court appearance, the outlet reported.Authorities earlier Monday said they're still looking for an additional suspect but could not rule out the possibility that individual was among those killed, the AP added.“We are trying to identify who that person is,” Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said, according to the outlet.Investigators initially believed two suspects were shooting at each other, the AP said, adding that police said late Sunday night it wasn't clear if any of the shooting victims were involved in the confrontation between the two shooters.More from the outlet:The dead were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56. The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday. The others — two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 — were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.CBS News said the shooting took place around 6 p.m. near the Seattle Center, a popular tourist spot that includes the Space Needle and the sports arena that's the home of the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm. The news network added that the area was filled with attendees of the annual Bite of Seattle food festival.RELATED: 3 killed, 4 wounded in shooting at Seattle food festival; 1 suspect arrested, the other still on the loose David Ryder/Getty ImagesWitnesses told KING-TV they heard sounds resembling firecrackers and people fleeing the area and diving for cover."I heard bang, bang, bang, and I heard yelling, straight yelling," a witness noted in the KING interview.Adya Sengupta told the station she took cover in the Seattle Armory and that Seattle Fudge brought dozens of bystanders into the storefront to shelter in the event center."Inside the Seattle Armory was crazy; within seconds, maybe 60-plus, people had flooded the doors inside, all running toward that back corner with Seattle Fudge," Sengupta added to KING.CBS News said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives indicated Sunday night that several of its agents were at the scene and that Seattle police would lead the investigation. The news network added that Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) said the state SWAT team also responded at the request of Seattle police.A candlelight vigil was planned Monday night at the center’s International Fountain, the AP reported.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
