Disclaimer: Allow me to state this isn’t intended to be a depressing piece, just a thoughtful one. Okay? So why, why, WHY is the government fighting so hard regarding the case of wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia? They keep waffling around about returning him to the US. It’s just one pitiful excuse after another. And they’re not giving any sort of reasons *why* they can’t get him back. The longer he stays there, the greater the chances we have of losing him to prison violence. I’m afraid for him.
The government keeps insisting they can’t get him back. They say he’s under El Salvador’s jurisdiction now. Excuse me? We are *paying* El Salvador to house prisoners for us. I think we can get him back, but don’t quote me on that. This thought occurred to me when this whole craziness started. The DOJ is fighting way too hard against something that should be simple.
From MSNBC: Will the Trump Justice Department lose a crucial Supreme Court case because one of its lawyers was too honest? The possibility arises in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, in which government officials want the justices to bail them out of a judge’s order to return the man whom the government admits it wrongly sent to El Salvador. Representing the DOJ at a hearing last week in Maryland, Erez Reuveni said that he had asked his clients (the government) why they couldn’t return Abrego Garcia but didn’t get “an answer that I find satisfactory.” He said, “The government made a choice here to produce no evidence,” and “The absence of evidence speaks for itself.”
I find that extremely interesting. Courts expect attorneys to provide evidence and reasoned arguments when presenting their case. How is he supposed to defend something if he doesn’t have a reason *why* they are fighting it? Then the DOJ placed him on leave, with Attorney General Pam Bondi stating:” Every DOJ lawyer “is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” and that “any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”
He was placed on leave because he was honest. That’s ridiculous. At the Supreme Court (with Reuveni no longer on the case), the DOJ said his “inappropriate statements did not and do not reflect the position of the United States.” The filing by Solicitor General John Sauer went on, “Whether a particular line attorney is privy to sensitive information or feels that whoever he spoke with at client agencies gave him sufficient answers to satisfy whatever personal standard he was applying cannot possibly be the yardstick for measuring the propriety of this extraordinary injunction.” Yet attorneys must make their arguments in accordance with applicable law. Without legal explanations as to why the government is fighting the case, Erez Rueveni cannot present his arguments in good faith. And the judge has no reason to accept the arguments.
And again, this makes me wonder what they are trying to hide, what they are trying to do, and why they are fighting so hard against getting him back. They’ve already admitted they made a mistake “due to a clerical error” in sending him there. Yet they keep dodging why they can’t get him back, most likely *don’t want* to get him back. This bugs me. I’ve thought about it at length and still haven’t been able to figure out *why*. Does that sound fishy to any of you? It stinks to high heaven to me.
Let me close with another couple of quotes. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote that this could be the first time the government in any brief to the court “impugns its own counsel,” noting that the trial judge commended Reuveni’s candor. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered the government to “facilitate and effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return by Monday at midnight. Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily halted the order that day, saving the administration from the deadline, pending further order from the court, which could come anytime. In declining to halt the judge’s order on its way to the Supreme Court, appellate judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit noted the DOJ’s action against its own lawyer and wrote that “the duty of zealous representation is tempered by the duty of candor to the court, among other ethical obligations, and the duty to uphold the rule of law, particularly on the part of a Government attorney.”
You might notice that this has stayed in the news. What *is* the answer to the government’s dodging and fighting the order to bring him back? If we ever find out the answer, it would be *VERY* interesting. They don’t particularly want to do it, plain and simple. There *has* to be a reason. Now, who in the courts could actually force them to answer? Is there anyone who can do it, or do we have to wait for Traitor Tot to get involved and say it’s under absolute immunity? Too many unanswered questions, far too many.
I heartily agree, Susan. They are trying very hard to cover up something. My guess is that they got caught in their BS. They don’t want have to undo this deportation, as it would open the window for how many more to be undone. They want to tell their lies with impunity, to justify their illegal activities.
Hi Cherl! I’m just afraid they’re dragging their feet because he’s already gone. Frightening. I’m glad you had a guess because I sure didn’t! This really is a giant cover-up. But *why*?? Thanks for the comment!
As with my comment in the “travel to El Salvador” post, I say send Pam Bondi and Administration friends to retrieve him from El Salvador.
Ooooo I like this too!
The answer is simple and has been said before – THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT!!!!!! The administration probably knew when they sent him down there he was in a protected status and did it anyway just to be CRUEL. They figured, correctly that Trump and his AG would back them playing “Championship Wrestling” referee, claiming it was an oopsie mistake and no one noticed that this guy had a court order specifically preventing him from being deported, especially to El Salvador. They WANT this guy to get killed in prison and once the media heat dies down as it will a few days after Roberts/SCOTUS gives Trump a pass on this the govt. of El Salvador will be ready to make sure this guy dies a LONG and PAINFUL death.
And they will play the “our hands were tied and once it was done there was no way to undo it game.” Journalists will move on to the next outrage, but in the immigrant community whether here legally or not the message of the vile, despicable and INTENTIONAL cruelty will inspire the fear Trump and his minions want them to feel.
Ouch. I hadn’t gotten that far, so I appreciate the information. And more Ouch.
🤔 As you know, Susan, this is a fast-moving story and is hard to stay ahead of. After you filed your story, SCOTUS spoke again, but of course gave more problems!
🤔 Court decisions can be very clear when judges want them to be, but can also be designed to obfuscate and hide meaning. Danny Cevallos, the MSNBC legal analyst, reminded us this morning that the spin masters in this administration will be able to call the latest decision a Trump win because SCOTUS used the wiggle words “facilitate” and “effectuate,” which means the game is still afoot! Cevallos referred back to the already adjudicated case in 2019 which gave protection that Abrego Garcia never be returned to El Salvador. If he is still alive, which I really doubt, Trump could just put him in a cell at Gitmo or wherever and keep playing.
Cevallos also claimed that that one of the big reasons for the wiggle words is that Chief Justice Roberts wanted some 9-0 decisions to slap against the Trumpheads so they know not to attack judges and courts, but couldn’t get all his justices on board if he used honest words.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill was also on MSNBC and made an important point that is getting lost and is almost never mentioned in media stories about this case…this is a business arrangement! Pam Bondi’s arguments about courts getting too far into the executive powers on international relations are meaningless. Trump and El Salvador President Bukele are parties in a contract and it is contract law that should rule. As McCaskill said, “this is a contract to house people for a term certain (one year) for money certain ($6M).” The original number of housed persons was 300, which works out to $1600/month per unit (person). You can be sure that there are no personal identifiers for each unit, so just take out one unit, replace “it” with another and there is no breach of contract. What McCaskill did not mention, but I have been screaming for days, is that if even one unit (Abrego Garcia) is dead/gone, Bukele is in breach of contract because he is charging us for housing a unit that no longer exists! At the least, we need to demand an inventory audit!! 🤬
Yea I saw the SCOTUS news about half an hour after I posted this. I decided not to re-write this piece. That one deserves its own story. And thank you for the additional information.
Breaking the law in the name of upholding it has always caused my brain to freeze momentarily, but we see it all the time, and much more frequently these days. Police do it, prosecutors and judges do it, and our government does it too. I don’t think the appearance of breaking the law is what’s causing the reluctance at the DOJ to set this miscarriage right, it’s admitting they were wrong.
Tangerine Jesus has invested much in his persona, presenting himself as a strong man, both omnipotent and infallible, and all the red hats believe it. So first they smear this man in the court of public opinion, and it works on those willing to believe anything this man vomits out for their consumption
But there’s this thing called evidence. And when you have it, you present it to a judge for their perusal. In this case, a judge has ruled that the narrative Tangerine Jesus and his lackeys are offering is false, and the man must be returned to his home.
So, what to do, what to do? Well, if you’re the liar, you delay, obfuscate, and lie some more. After all, what’s the judge going to do when the Liar in Chief has installed loyalists in all of federal law enforcement who would be reluctant at best to arrest one of their cabal for such a gross violation of the civil rights of an American citizen?
And as some have said, this man may be dead already. From what I’ve gathered, dead inmates are part of the entertainment for the guards at this prison.