Judge Rejects Trump Administration Bid To Subpoena Minnesota Democrats In Immigration Probe
A federal judge in Minnesota has thrown out an attempt by the Department of Justice to subpoena Democratic leaders in the state, ruling that the Trump administration’s immigration-related inquiry amounted to an improper use of federal investigative powers.
In a sharply worded 29-page order unsealed Monday, Minneapolis U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz quashed subpoenas issued to Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Jacob Frey, Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.
“Initiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents or to coerce them into taking official action, particularly official action that the federal government cannot directly require those political opponents to take, is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use [of] the grand-jury process,” Schiltz wrote.
“The only question, then, is whether the challenged subpoenas were issued for one of these forbidden purposes. The Court has no doubt that they were,” he added.
The subpoenas were issued during the administration’s Operation Metro Surge immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota earlier this year.
Schiltz criticized the scope of the requests, noting that they targeted a broad swath of Minnesota’s political leadership and sought information related largely to constitutionally protected activities.
“The challenged subpoenas are extraordinarily broad,” the judge wrote. “They seek materials that largely, if not entirely, relate to constitutionally protected conduct.”
The Justice Department had pointed to advocacy efforts by members of the Minneapolis City Council as part of its justification for the investigation. Schiltz dismissed that rationale, arguing that any connection to potential criminal conduct was “so remote as to be spurious.”
“This reasoning piles speculation upon speculation, while also taking aim at perfectly legal — indeed, constitutionally protected — behavior,” he wrote.
The immigration crackdown in Minnesota generated significant local controversy, particularly following the January shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during encounters involving federal immigration enforcement agents.
Walz celebrated the ruling, calling it a rebuke of what he characterized as political targeting by the federal government.
“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” Walz said. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness — in Minnesota and around the country.”
The ruling represents a significant setback for the Justice Department’s efforts in Minnesota and raises broader questions about the limits of federal investigative authority when directed toward elected political officials.