A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
This Is Effed Up On So Many Levels
In an important federal case in Massachusetts over whether deportees can be sent to third countries rather than their countries of origin, the Trump administration admitted Friday to a grievous error and managed to compound it in the process.
It’s a bit complicated so let me boil it down to its essentials:
- Background: A gay Guatemalan national who had a U.S. immigration judge order barring his removal to his home country because he feared continued persecution was instead deported to Mexico in February by the Trump administration, partly on the grounds that he had told ICE that he didn’t fear being sent to Mexico. That was odd because the man, identified only by the initials O.C.G., had previously testified that he had been targeted and raped in Mexico, his lawyers say.
- Thursday: The Trump DOJ abruptly cancelled the scheduled deposition of an ICE official “whom Defendants previously identified as giving Plaintiff O.C.G. notice of deportation to Mexico and recording his response of lack of fear,” O.C.G.’s lawyers later told the court.
- Friday: The Trump DOJ filed a “Notice of Errata” admitting that during the judge’s ordered discovery in the case it had been unable to “identify any officer who asked O.C.G. whether he had a fear of return to Mexico.” A key factual element of the Trump administration’s case had evaporated. But it got worse …
- Saturday: Lawyers for the deportee – who is now in hiding in Guatemala because he fears persecution as a gay man – filed an emergency motion pointing out, among other things, that the government’s filing about its own error revealed the deportees name and other information, further jeopardizing his safety despite a court order anonymizing his identifying information.
Still with me? In the course of admitting its error, the Trump administration outed the gay man who it had wrongfully deported in the first place.
This case may ultimately yield the third court order for the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of a wrongfully deported foreign national.
SCOTUS Ruling Means We May Avoid A Worst-Case Scenario
A few weeks ago as the clash between the executive and judicial branches was first coming into focus, the two biggest risks to the constitutional order appeared to be:
- President Trump simply ignoring court orders and daring judges to do something about it; and
- The Supreme Court doing whatever Trump wanted in the first place so that he didn’t have to go so far as defying the courts.
At least with the Alien Enemies Act and in related cases, that second major risk seems mostly off the table now even if the Trump administration continues to defy court orders (see Abrego Garcia case below). And while the Supreme Court’s spine has stiffened primarily in the AEA cases, that has implications beyond the immigration realm.
The Roberts Court’s 7-2 ruling Friday in an AEA case out of the Northern District of Texas was a strong rebuke of the administration and defense of due process:
- Steve Vladeck: The Supreme Court’s (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
- Joyce Vance: SCOTUS to Trump: Due Process!
IMPORTANT
Joe Kent, the acting chief of staff for DNI Tulsi Gabbard, ordered a senior analyst to “redo” an intelligence assessment of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and Tren de Aragua that undercut the White House’s justification for invoking the Alien Enemies Act, the NYT reports.
Trump Continues To Defy Abrego Garcia Judge
A contentious hearing Friday pushed the case of the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia ever so closer to a contempt of court finding by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland.
Xinis was unsparing in her criticism of the Trump administration’s stonewalling of her in the case, saying it has failed to comply with her orders in “bad faith.” Still, Xinis hasn’t found the administration in contempt yet, preferring to build a more robust case that will stand up on appeal.
Xinis gave the government of new round of deadlines by which to meet its discovery obligations, but – barring a surprise shift – it looks more likely that this case is headed toward a showdown over contempt of court rather than the immediate release and return of Abrego Garcia.
Secret Service Brought Comey In For Questioning
The firestorm of fake indignation over former FBI Director James Comey’s “86” social media post culminated (one hopes this is the culmination) with him being hauled in voluntarily for questioning Friday by the Secret Service.
Trump DOJ Watch
- After largely dismantling the Public Integrity Section, the Trump DOJ is now planning to allow federal prosecutors to bypass it entirely and charge politicians without Main Justice approval, the WaPo reports.
- Former acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin’s bogus investigation into a Biden-era EPA grant program that led to the forced resignation of a veteran prosecutor has turned up no evidence of criminality by either government officials or vendors, the NYT reports.
- The Trump DOJ is preparing to offer Boeing a non-prosecution agreement rather than taking it to trial in 737 MAX case. This all comes after the Biden DOJ had secured a guilty plea from Boeing in the case.
House GOP Sorta Gets Its Act Together
After flailing on Friday, the House GOP advanced its massive reconciliation bill through committee late last night. Prospects for the centerpiece of President Trump’s legislative agenda – which despite all of its brutal spending cuts and funny math is projected to increase budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion through 2034 – remain unclear in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is barely holding his conference together as he tries to rush through “one big, beautiful bill.”
Indy Agencies Didn’t Fare Well In Major Case
TPM’s Kate Riga covered the oral arguments Friday before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the combined case of President Trump’s firing of Democratic members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. With a three-judge panel that includes two Trump appointees, independent agencies did not fare well.
DOGE Watch
- WaPo: How DOGE’s grand plan to remake Social Security is backfiring
- Nextgov/FCW: DOGE went looking for phone fraud at the Social Security Administration — and found almost none
- NOTUS: DOGE Is Now Targeting GAO, and the Congressional Agency Is Fighting Back
Palm Springs Bombing
The 25-year-old man who allegedly bombed a fertility clinic in Palm Springs died in the blast, apparently while trying to live-stream the detonation, authorities said.
Biden Agonistes
In an odd juxtaposition, former President Biden was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer the audio recordings of former President Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur were leaked to news outlets before they could be released by the Trump DOJ.
Project Esther
NYT: The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement
Quote Of The Day
“I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity. I believe that the only way to secure U.S. interests is to stand up for democracies and to stand against autocrats. Peace at any price is not peace at all ― it is appeasement. And history has taught us time and again that appeasement does not lead to safety, security or prosperity. It leads to more war and suffering.”–former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who resigned rather than carry out the Trump administration’s policy “to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia”
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