This is good. The government is trying to rush events without doing their due diligence in order to charge people with a crime or hold them in a, well, holding facility so they can be deported. They haven’t learned anything yet, and it’s been noticed. We‘re up in Minneapolis again with a new BadA$$ Judge. The mistakes of the DoJ are coming thick and fast. Remember the lady lawyer who asked the judge to hold her in contempt of court so she could get some sleep? Of course, I go to look at my list to refresh our memories, to discover I’m not sure which judge it is. Derp. I’m getting old. My compliments to Raw Story:
A federal judge slammed President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice during a recent court order after the agency admitted to making a rookie mistake in the probe of protesters who attended a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to a new report. In January, protesters attended a service at City Church in St. Paul, where the pastor, Dave Easterwood, also serves as a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in the state. Following the protest, the Department of Justice charged 39 people, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, with conspiring to violate religious freedoms and interfering with the exercise of religious freedoms.
I remember there was a big hoo-rah about that whole incident. And I remember Dummy Donnie ranting about Mr. Lemon. Perhaps I misunderstood what actually happened. I thought the protest was *after* the service. But given Dave’s position at ICE, it could well have disrupted the church service. The parishioners cannot be blamed for their pastor’s outside affiliations. Oops, I digress. Let’s move along now.
On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Trump’s DOJ dropped charges against one of the protesters “in an apparent case of mistaken identity,” a move that Judge Douglas L. Micko in the District of Minnesota argued could have been avoided if the DOJ adhered to some rudimentary steps. “Here we are, months into a case that the government had an intense appetite to initiate, but cannot seem to keep up the pace when it comes to discovery obligations,” Micko wrote. “This is unacceptable.”
I apologize in advance for: gee, ya THINK?! ICE was (and may still be, even if we haven’t heard about it) making a mess in Minneapolis specifically and Minnesota in general. They were pushing really hard to grab anyone and everyone and subject them to all kinds of abuse. Then they killed two people. That blew the whole thing wide open. But if the government wants to charge all these people, it needs to do so correctly. Here’s hoping more cases get thrown out when they come to court.
The defendant’s lawyer, Brock Hunter, told the NYT that the government believed his client was one of the protesters because they cross-referenced her cell phone location data with video footage and his client’s driver’s license. “Mr. Hunter said the government could have avoided the blunder if it had sent Ms. Lewis a letter informing her that she was under criminal investigation,” the report reads. “That routine step in federal cases can clear up misconceptions before charges are filed or pave the way for plea deals early on.”
Insert picture of me rolling my eyes. This was sloppy. And stupid. And a waste of her time and money. You can bet she won’t get any of that money back, which just sucks. So … the DoJ continues to slide downhill. It’s a shadow of its former self. And we have something else to rebuild. Good grief and good gods.
See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
I don’t know how charges on Don Lemon can stick, either. He was present merely a press observer. This is typical of the current maladministration. They say all sorts of inflammatory words, without any facts to back them up.
Yup and then they get busted for it. If only the people could get removed and then we wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.