Trump Is Arresting Judges To Send A Message

Written By Leeja Miller

Sources:

Transcript:

Good morning welcome to Why, America? With Leeja Miller, I’m Leeja Miller, here’s a round up of the headlines that actually matter. I liked the sandwich method from Wednesday, where I sandwiched the bad news between two chunks of delicious doughy good news so we’re continuing that today.

In the span of about 90 minutes yesterday Trump got 3 big old honkin L’s in the legal world, and you love to see this man lose!!! First, a judge in the northern district of California ruled that Trump’s executive order withholding funding from so called “sanctuary cities” is likely unconstitutional. I say “so called sanctuary cities” because there’s not like an official definition or group of officially dubbed sanctuary cities. The term is used to describe liberal cities that offer protections for immigrants and aren’t willing to cooperate with the ICE gestapo as I recently saw them called, which I think is apt. The judge ruled that it was federal overreach into the powers reserved for the states, it was unconstitutionally vague, and it also violates Congress’ constitutional right to have power over the purse strings. This is related to the “impoundment power” Trump thinks he has, wherein Congress can earmark money for things but then the President gets to just decide whether or not to actually spend the money Congress has told him to spend. Which is an absolutely insane reading of the Constitution and what the framers were attempting to accomplish. Like really they were like “we’re going to explicitly say Congress controls how money is spent but what we really mean is secretly the President gets to override them.” Make it make sense! Also this is the SAME thing that played out in 2017 when Trump tried to bar funding for sanctuary cities then. He lost then at the district court and appellate court levels as well, and according to the judge in the case from yesterday, the plaintiff’s “well-founded fear of enforcement is even stronger than it was in 2017” – this is in response to the Government’s weak argument that these cities didn’t have standing to sue because their funding hadn’t been withheld yet!!! Which is not an accurate determination of standing–they had a valid and reasonable fear that they would imminently suffer damage if they didn’t sue. That’s valid. The judge in this case agreed, delivering a big stinky L for Trump. This applied specifically to the parties in the case, a group of sanctuary cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, New Haven, and Santa Fe. And this ruling is really important because it removes a fear tactic being used to try to coerce cities into cooperating with ICE, something they do not have to do, and I hope these cities, including my city of Minneapolis, use this momentum to continue to stand up for the rights of immigrants.

Next Trump tried to add a requirement that would make anyone filling out a federal voter registration form provide proof of citizenship and the district court in Washington was like NOT SO FAST BUCKO!!! The DNC filed a lawsuit to stop the order, and the judge, a REAGAN appointee, found in favor of the DNC, saying the order was unconstitutional because it’s clear in the Constitution that election regulation is left to Congress and the states. Again, following the theme of Trump and his cronies doing everything they can to test the limits of presidential power, no matter what the longstanding precedent or the literal constitution says. It’s like when you set boundaries for a child and they try to test them to see if you were serious or if they were fake and you’re a big push over. Judges, it turns out, are the only adults left in the room trying to reinforce boundaries with the petulant child that is Donald John Trump. The judge said that the Trump admin lawyers offered, quote “almost no defense of the President’s order on the merits.” Because there IS no defense of Trump’s order on the merits. They’re just going on vibes. And the vibes are bad!! This order was a preliminary injunction, so a temporary hold while the case plays out in court. However, like the judge said, it IS within Congress’ power to regulate how elections are run, and that’s precisely what they’re trying to do with the SAVE act, which passed the House and faces an uncertain future in the Senate. It basically does the same thing Trump’s order tried to do, require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, which is just a tactic to add obstacles to voting especially for low income people who can’t afford a $160 passport, and women who have a different last name than their birth certificate. It is a waste of time given the miniscule amount of evidence of non-citizens voting. It happens so infrequently that there is no proof that it has any material effect on the outcome of our elections. But just like trans bans in sports they are wasting huge amounts of time and taxpayer dollars to address what amounts to a non-issue that impacts a tiny fraction of the country and specifically targets some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

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Voting rights and ID laws are a major area where the story can be spun very differently depending on the bias of the publication. And understanding that bias is key to figuring out which way they’re spinning the story. So for example, I saw this headline from Mother Jones that says “A Federal Court Just Blocked Key Parts of Trump’s Anti-Voting Executive Order”

Using the Ground News browser extension, it’s helpful to see that this news source has a left leaning bias. Which I think is evidenced in the framing of this issue. I really love this extension because it provides context, and I can see how other sources are framing the story by clicking full coverage.

On the Ground News website you can see that there are 274 sources covering this topic

Among them, left leaning Talking Points Memo uses the headline: “Judge Rejects Trump’s Vision Of An All-Powerful Presidency In Blocking Chunks Of His Election Order” while the right leaning National Post frames it as: “Trump's plan to require proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections thwarted by judge.” These are very different takes on the same story–one focuses on Presidential overreach while the other blames the judge for “thwarting” Trump’s plas–and it's a clear example of how consuming news from only one perspective can limit your understanding of a situation.

This is where Ground News comes in - and why I've been using them for over a year. Today’s partner Ground News is an app and website that offers tools to help you critically analyze the news you read, providing context to understand the full picture.

By using the Ground News Vantage Subscription, I can also see the blindspot feed where I can see stories disproportionately covered by one side of the political spectrum. For example, no left leaning news sources are covering the headline “Congress Republicans seek $27 billion for Golden Dome in Trump tax bill.” Interesting. I feel better equipped to make sense of what’s happening in the world without being influenced by just one perspective.

I’m always really impressed with Ground News and genuinely think they’re a great resource. If you want to stay informed on US Politics and more scan my QR code, or click the link in the description or go to ground dot news slash leeja to get 40% off the same Vantage plan I use which comes to about $5/month. Ground News is subscriber-funded, so they don't rely on ads that could introduce bias! Subscribing supports my channel and an independent team working to keep the media transparent. Thanks Ground News!

A district court across the country in New Hampshire delivered another L for Trump yesterday, ruling that the actions of the Department of Education, threatening to eliminate funding from public schools that operate “DEI” programs, was a violation of teacher’s first amendment rights. The judge in this case said, "A professor runs afoul of the 2025 Letter if she expresses the view in her teaching that structural racism exists in America, but does not do so if she denies structural racism's existence. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination." She also ruled the order was unconstitutionally vague because there was no definition provided of what a “DEI program” is, because again there is no clear definition, they are just going on vibes, and the vibes are bad!!!! This is not the only judge to order an injunction on the same issue yesterday–a Maryland judge, a TRUMP appointee, also said the education department’s actions ran afoul of the law.

So long story short Trump is a loser okay we’re moving into the bad news are you ready? We’ll start with immigration. Protesters have gathered outside a Providence Rhode Island hospital as of yesterday when their local ICE watch hotline received intel that ICE was present with a detainee at the hospital and were not allowing him access to his lawyer. Activists at the hot line were able to quickly mobilize about 150 protesters who peacefully gathered outside the hospital, prompting Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor to issue a statement calling on ICE to allow the man access to counsel. And THIS is what direct action and mutual aid looks like!!! If you are looking to get involved and help out but not sure where to start, it truly is immigrants rights on the chopping block right now and I highly encourage you to donate your money or time to helping out with your local immigration assistance organization. You don’t need to be a lawyer or necessarily speak a second language, there is so much need.

In a currently developing story, this morning FBI agents entered a Wisconsin County Courthouse at 8:30AM and arrested a local county judge, Judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of “obstructing immigration enforcement.” FBI director Kash Patel tweeted about it and then deleted the tweet, and then reposted it later, which indicated she “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from” an immigrant that they were pursuing. It was later alleged in court filings that on April 18, when the immigrant in question was in her courtroom, ICE agents entered the court, like interrupted her court proceedings, to make an arrest, the judge directed the agents to the office of the chief judge, and then allegedly helped the immigrant leave through a side door out of the court room. ICE then chased him on foot and apprehended him in front of the courthouse. So the incident was on the 18th and ICE arrested the judge this morning. Judge Dugan appeared in federal court with her lawyer today and was released from custody–her next court date is May 15. This obviously marks an escalation in the administration’s handling of local immigration officials. Even if she did allegedly “misdirect” FBI officials, this woman is a judge, and she was arrested inside the courthouse, at her place of employment, an intentionally very public move, when there was absolutely no need, over her alleged handling of an immigration case. A local defense attorney commented to the Milwaukee journal sentinel that quote “a person who is a judge, who has a residence who has no problem being found” should not have been arrested in this manner. Saying “I’m shocked and surprised that the US attorney’s office or the FBI would not have invited her to show up and accept process if they’re going to charge her with a crime” as cases are typically handled for people not actively on the run or accused of violent crimes. The lawyer called it “very very outrageous.”

This case is especially notable given the administration’s disdain for meddling judges and lawyers, and also because of another case involving a county judge in New Mexico, Judge Joel Cano, who resigned last month after ICE began investigating him and his wife for harboring alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. Someone tipped off ICE back in January that they were harboring gang members, two search warrants of their home and their daughter’s home resulted in the seizure of four guns and three immigrants were taken into custody, after which the judge resigned. What has been alleged is that one of the three men did some handy man jobs around the house for the couple, and after he was evicted from his apartment a year ago, they offered him a home at their guest house on their property. And I guess a couple other immigrants lived there as well? Unclear. But the allegations are that this couples’ daughter gave the immigrant men access to guns, they posted images on social media with the guns and displaying clear indicators of association with Tren de Aragua, including tattoos, apparel, and hand gestures. Given this administration’s apparent habit of doctoring photos to support their claims of gang affiliation, let’s just say I’m dubious. And yesterday, even though the immigrants were removed from this judge’s house and taken into custody last month, and the judge resigned his position over it, the former judge and his wife were arrested by ICE and charged with “tampering with evidence” because they harbored these alleged gang members. This is also a developing story, so it’s unclear what’s going to happen but let’s just say it’s giving gestapo it’s giving third reich, okay. It’s sending a clear message that if you protect immigrants, you will be punished.

In the ongoing case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, reminder the judge ordered the government to comply with Abrego Garcia’s discovery requests for documents, information, and depositions, but then on Wednesday after sealed motions were filed, the judge agreed to a one week pause on the discovery process, for reasons that are unclear because the motions were filed under seal–the judge and both parties agreed to the pause. But Abrego Garcia’s wife has had to flee to a safe house because DHS officials get this posted a court document ON SOCIAL MEDIA to their over 2 million followers that included the family’s home address. This is wild for so many reasons, I used to assist clients with restraining orders and orders for protection so let me really put on my lawyer hat for a second. The document that was posted was from a 2021 order for protection that Abrego Garcia’s wife filed against him for domestic abuse. She never showed up in court to pursue that case, it was dropped, and never filed anything else against him. First of all, when you represent survivors of abuse you NEVER publicly file information about their address. That is like 101 shit. Second of all, as outlined in a recent Washington Post article about this incident, and in my experience, seeking an order for protection against a partner is NEVER straight forward. There are invariably almost always SO MANY intersecting things happening at the same time. Stress and trauma from poverty, from housing and food insecurity, from past childhood trauma, from caring for children in a country that doesn’t support you, from immigration insecurity, from mental health instability, there are so many intersecting issues that make order for protection cases really really difficult. It is VERY common for the survivor of domestic abuse to file an order for protection and then never show up to court. I have spent hours sitting in court waiting for clients to show up who never do. Who I never hear from again. And I’ll be the first to say that it is never okay to emotionally or physically abuse a partner or child or anyone and anyone who does should absolutely be held accountable. Despite being someone who took on domestic abusers in court, and who was subject to relationship abuse myself, I am telling you this does not justify the regime’s treatment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He still deserves due process. He still deserves constitutional protections. He does not deserve to be sent to a prison filled with members of the very gang he was trying to escape, a prison known for human rights abuses. In their disgusting attempt to further discredit Abrego Garcia, in addition to allegedly doctoring a photo of his hands to attempt to show he has gang tattoos, this social media post of the 2021 order for protection is meant to try to justify to the world the inhumane mistreatment of a person, and his wife, you know the very victim of the violence she alleged in her petition, has had to flee to a safe house in fear of her safety because the government literally doxxed her. The levels of fucked up are truly staggaring. So it’s unclear why this case has been paused for ANOTHER week but I’m sure more information will come out in the coming days, and I hope desperately that he gets his freedom and sues these assholes for defamation some day.

Separately, a Trump appointed judge in Maryland ordered the return of another immigrant sent to El Salvador, because his deportation violated a previous court settlement that barred him from being deported. I’m sure the government will drag their feet on this case as well.

Elsewhere in the executive branch, RFK’s department of health and human services announced this week that they will be developing an “autism registry” with lists of people diagnosed with autism, to “assist with research.” Obviously this has everyone ON EDGE as it comes just days after RFK made comments at a press conference in which he lamented that autism destroys families and autistic people will never pay taxes and woweewoowee he really said the quiet part out loud my friends this is eugenics :) this is eugenics. And also a lie so many people with autism have jobs? And write poetry and go on dates there’s literally an entire tv show about them going on dates like what are we doing. To be clear, disease registries ARE a common thing used in research and are helpful to collect data to better serve communities, however typically they involve strong ethics rules and deidentification methods to ensure anonymity, as well as informed consent. Considering the fact that RFK has a worm eating his brain and seems drawn to scientists who are also conspiracy theorists with questionable at best ethics, this is not comforting. The groups of “scientists” who will get access to this information may use it to support absolutely unhinged theories and the collection of data may not follow best practices for assuring deidentification. Some HHS officials have walked back the claims about an autism registry, but WHO KNOWS and also this announcement is already having real world impacts, with reports from healthcare providers that families are canceling their diagnostic appointments to avoid getting their kids added to some registry. And without a diagnosis, kids can’t get the help and services they need. It is just another way that the Trump administration is terrorizing groups of vulnerable people.

It is also wild that HHS and RFK are making claims about really caring about collecting data while the government is also firing scientists and slashing research budgets that would assist with health outcomes across the country. And, along with it, reems of data are disappearing into thin air. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights recently reported quote “In recent weeks, the Trump administration has moved at breakneck pace to scrub websites, remove commonly used datasets like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey and AtlasPlus HIV surveillance tool, and eliminate resources from the U.S. Census Bureau and other agencies that document economic, social, and health disparities faced by millions of people.” The CDC also removed race and ethnicity data from its research tools including the Social Vulnerability Index and Environmental Justice Index. Funding cuts across the government are eliminating access to data that affects literally everything and everyone, it’s too much to name. For example it was just announced that the Department of Justice terminated all funding for the National Prison Grape Elimination Act which audited prison sexual assault numbers, tracked results of investigations, provided resources to survivors, and more. And that’s just one of hundreds of reported cuts to DOJ programs across the country created to help crime victims. And the effect of these cuts and removal of information means the regime can do things with less oversight. You can’t take action on prison grapes if you don’t have information about them. You can’t make policy to improve environmental justice for minority populations if the data doesn’t exist. They know they are lying about everything, and so they are simply attempting to remove access to the information that proves them wrong, whether it's about autism or environmental justice and everything in between. So while it is very flashy to talk about how Trump just dropped a line of “Trump 2028” merch and offered investors in Trump’s crypto an opportunity to meet him if they buy enough of it, which is clearly illegal and a 2028 bid for the presidency is also completely unconstitutional, I’m not going to devote time to that shit because there is insidious shit happening behind the scenes of the roving freak show that is the Trump administration that we need to keep an eye on.

And moving from the executive branch to the judicial branch, I’d like to highlight one final insidious thing we need to be keeping our eyes on, and that is the DC Circuit. Now stay with me here, remember on Wednesday how I was talking about Ed Martin, the acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, who sent a menacing letter to a random scientific journal in Illinois and, previously, sent a menacing and unconstitutional letter to Georgetown Law, so that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as pointed out by recent reporting from Slate. Every region in the United States has a bar association. This body is responsible for admitting and disciplining lawyers in the region, members of the bar as we are called, and who pray tell is running to head the District of Columbia Bar? Why none other than US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad Bondi. And alongside him, running for bar treasurer, is a woman named Alicia Long, who is deputy to, whomst? Ed Martin. Having Trump loyalists head the bar association would increase control over who is and isn’t disbarred, as the bar nominates candidates to the board that adjudicates lawyer misconduct. As posited by slate, while Brad Bondi wouldn’t gain a TON of power by heading up the bar, he would gain the power to silence it, and independent bar associations have credibility to advocate for the rule of law. According to Slate, quote “Under dictatorships in Spain and Brazil, for instance, bar associations channeled democratic ambitions and defended political prisoners.” And this is important because DC is home to a lot of prominent lawyers and law firms, a lot of government lawyers, and a lot of lawyers who go on to become judges who then rise through the ranks and eventually go on to be nominated for the supreme court. Four of the nine current Supreme Court justices were previously judges in the DC circuit. And I don’t think it’s outlandish or beyond the realm of possibility here that some in the Trump administration have their eyes on DC and are playing the long game to try to dismantle any liberal or democratic resistance to Trump goals for as long as possible. And I think that’s important to name and to keep an eye on. Because, again, we are being assaulted all day every day with very flashy headlines, but I think it is in the fine print, the hidden moves, the smaller injustices where the breakdown of rights, freedoms, and society is happening.

OKAY we’ve reached the end of the sandwich time for a little glimmer of hope????? There is division in the DNC after vice chair David Hogg, who rose to prominence as an activist after surviving the Parkland school shooting, has introduced an initiative to primary incumbent candidates. This is a move a lot of people in the DNC are pushing against hard, including DNC chair Ken Martin, ranking members of the party like Hakeem Jeffries, and old Democratic operatives like James Carville, who called David Hogg a “contemptible little twerp” to which Hogg replied that James Carville hasn’t won an election since before the 25 year old was born. But yeah, go off James Carville, calling young people “contemptible little twerps” is definitely the way to win back the masses.

In support of his plan, Hogg said, quote “"People in D.C. continue to act like we can just have the same cast of characters and not change anything that much fundamentally and just hope if we throw a couple 100 million dollars at some front-line districts, things are going to change, and frankly, that is not going to be possible. There are far too many people in Congress that are failing to meet the moment right now, and we need to do two things at once." Those two things being promote primary challengers to Democrats in safe districts who are failing to meet the moment while also supporting candidates in districts looking to take back democratic control. And listen yes this is just party politics within an incredibly imperfect party in an incredibly problematic two party system, yes queen go off in the comments about how none of this matters, but fuck if I’m going to get on my soap box over and over again about how democrats are old and out of touch and mounting zero opposition and then not recognize when SOMEONE within the party finally stands up with an idea to do SOMETHING. The ONLY thing politicians listen to is re-election threats. That is where the power lies, we can bemoan the two party system and also recognize this at the same time, two things can be true at once! And having someone with actual sway within the party say if you don’t do something to meet the current authoritarian moment we are going to find a candidate who will and we are going to kick you out of office is at least SOMETHING. And I’m gonna grasp onto it okay!!!!! And we cannot rest back and say that progressive ideals don’t win elections, sorry I’m not going to lay down that easily. Bernie Sanders and AOC, the two most recognizable progressive members of Congress, are drawing crowds of tens of thousands in deep red districts. I think they might be on to something. This is not the time to buckle down and stick to “safe” methods because those methods have proven to not work. So I say let’s give the Hogg boy’s ideas a try cuz we need to do SOMETHING. FUCK!

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And if you liked this episode, you’ll like the one from Wednesday about the insurrection act and martial law. Fun!

Leeja Miller
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