As we celebrate a free and independent press this weekend, AG Bondi rescinds Merrick Garland’s memo that provides significant protections for the news media and their sources. Bondi’s action opens the door for this administration to subpoena reporters for their sources. This is an assault on the free press and should frighten everyone.
BREAKING: A federal judge smashes the emergency glass by announcing a criminal contempt investigation into Trump administration officials for defying his order by deporting Venezuelan migrants without due process.
The legal rubber is finally meeting the road...
Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of Washington, D.C. stated the the administration's decision to proceed with removal flights despite his order not to do so demonstrated "a willful disregard … sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt."
The MAGA Justice Department removed 130 Venezuelans and forced them into a brutal mega-prison in El Salvador, denying them due process. The DOJ performed the blatantly illegal act just hours after Judge Boasberg forbade them.
The judge had also told them that any planes already in the air must be turned around and returned to the U.S. They were not.
Judge Boasberg wrote that the administration's "willful disobedience of judicial orders" will make a "solemn mockery" of "the Constitution itself" if consequences are not enforced.
Trump officials have doubled down on their lawlessness by refusing to provide Boasberg with detailed explanations of the timing of the flights and have tried to argue that the order didn't need to be enforced once the planes had left American airspace.
During the latest hearing, the judge accused the DOJ of acting in "bad faith" by rushing to load up the planes and fly them out of the country before the operation could be halted.
"Who made the decision either not to tell the pilots anything or to tell them to keep going?" asked the judge.
"Your honor, I don’t know that," claimed Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign.
Readers will recognize Ensign's name, as he is also involved in the court proceedings around the deportation of innocent Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Ensign is quickly carving out a place in the history books as a craven and willing enforcer of this fascist regime.
"The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders -- especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it," wrote Boasberg. "To permit such officials to freely 'annul the judgments of the courts of the United States' would not just 'destroy the rights acquired under those judgments'; it would make 'a solemn mockery' of 'the constitution itself.'"
The judge added that the "most obvious way" for the administration to "purge" potential contempt findings would be for them to obey the original order by "asserting custody of the individuals who were removed in violation of the Court's classwide TRO so that they might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability through a habeas proceeding."
Judge Boasberg went on to state that if the administration does not wish to purge the contempt finding, he will "identify" the individuals responsible for the "contumacious conduct."
He will demand declarations from the administration and if that proves insufficient he will "proceed either to hearings with live witness testimony under oath or to depositions conducted by Plaintiffs."
As a final step, Boasberg threatened to appoint an independent attorney to prosecute the administration.
Please retweet and ❤️ to thank Judge Boasberg for taking a stand for the rule of law — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX
BREAKING: Donald Trump gets crushing news as a federal judge orders depositions from several administration officials over the White House's failure to take the court-ordered steps to facilitate the return of the innocent Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
This scandal just went supernova...
"What the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing. I asked for reports from individuals with direct knowledge and I’ve gotten very little information of any value," said U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis, adding that she gave "a very simple directive" for the government to update her on steps taken.
She stated that she is not yet holding the government in contempt of court but floated the idea of taking that drastic step if the issue is not properly addressed soon.
For now, she has ordered the Trump administration to furnish documents and responses to interrogatories. Better still, she has ordered that four MAGA officials who signed affidavits in the case must sit for depositions no later than April 23rd.
This move will allow Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to grill Trump immigration officials, exposing them in the process and likely inflicting a major black eye on this habitually dishonest White House.
Drew Ensign, an attorney for the Trump administration, suggested that they may attempt to prevent at least one of the depositions and that they are working to appeal Xinis's order because "we don't believe discovery is appropriate."
"You lost. This is now about the scope of the remedy,” Xinis shot back, stating that there is nothing left to appeal at this point.
The hearing centered around the Trump administration's failure to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that they "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia. It bears mentioning that the administration has already admitted in court that Abrego Garcia was accidentally deported due to an "administrative error."
Ensign tried to argue that the judge should employ a narrow definition of the word "facilitate" and said that the administration would help Abrego return "if he appears at a port of entry or U.S. embassy we will facilitate his return."
Since El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has already falsely smeared Abrego Garcia as a "terrorist" and stated that he will not release him from prison, he has no way of reaching a port of entry.
Judge Xinis said that Ensign's argument "flies in the face of the plain meaning of the word.”
"The bottom line is it was a very simple directive. My question, that the high court squarely affirmed I can ask, is what have you done?" she said. "I’ve gotten nothing. I’ve gotten no real response, nor have I gotten any legitimate reason."
"We’re going to move. There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship and grandstanding," she added.
"There are no business hours while we do this – there are going to be two intense weeks of discovery," she stated later.
"Cancel vacation, cancel other appointments. I’m usually pretty good about that in my courtroom, but not this time. It won’t be a convenience issue," she added.
Clearly, Judge Xinis will not rest until Abrego Garcia is returned home to his family. God bless her.
Please retweet and ❤️ to thank the judge — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKjCwX
If Stephen Miller can lie about Garcia’s case on TV, he can do it in court.
Judge Xinis should demand his appearance, question him under oath, and then jail him for Contempt when he commits Perjury.
This lawless administration must be subjected to rule of law.
RT IF YOU AGREE.
The problem with professed pro-life conservatives’ breathless, tearful zealotry, is that once these embryos are no longer embryos—these supposed life-lovers often don't treat them like they're at all human.
Prior to departing the birth canal, they’re sacred.
After that, they’re screwed.
https://t.co/GqVeRB4yvx
Lately, I confess that I’ve been imagining myself in a way I never have before in over a half-century of living here in America: I’m imagining myself as an expat.
At first, it was difficult to admit this newly-burgeoning fantasy of flight from my place of birth—until I found out how many here are similarly prone to daydreaming right now, as well.
That's because this election has put many of us in a precarious position that we've never been in our entire lives: we're now ashamed of our homeland.
FULL POST: https://t.co/QIrbNUjeAK
This is Florida Judge Lisette Reid. She just ruled that Donald Trump must sit for four-hour depositions next week in a lawsuit with ABC. Trump has tried to avoid being deposed.
RETWEET to thank Judge Reid for holding Donald Trump accountable!
If you're done with Church, I get you.
I've been there.
Many days I'm still there.
But, there are faith communities where LGBTQ human beings are fully celebrated, where women are valued as leaders, where divides of race and economics are reached across, where theological deviations are warmly welcomed, where hospitality is offered to all.
Yes, you may want to keep staying away from the Church and that’s a perfectly valid decision.
Or, you may want to try one, one more time.
It might be the day you find yourself home again—or for the first time ever.
https://t.co/zyk79cSwSN
Normally, the Friday night interview feature in my Substack newsletter Civil Discourse is behind a paywall, but this week's column, with information about how to register and vote from abroad, is so important I've made it available to everyone. Please share widely!
We have just reached 150,000 Biden supporters. It's safe to say that Chuck Todd is wrong and that President Biden has an incredibly strong and loyal fanbase.
Retweet and follow to uplift the wins of President Biden!