With a sternly worded rebuke, a federal judge tossed out grand jury subpoenas sought by the Justice Department for records from the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and other top Twin Cities leaders related to immigration.
The order came from Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief judge in Minnesota’s U.S. District Court system. He found the subpoenas issued in January to be baseless, unethical and possibly illegal.
“The fact that connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation range from extremely weak to nonexistent only adds to the overwhelming evidence that these subpoenas were not issued to investigate, but to harass, coerce, and retaliate,” Schiltz wrote in a 29-page order made public on Monday.
The order, dated June 17, is a big blow to the Trump administration’s effort to unlock records from Democratic public officials about how they confronted the winter immigration agent surge in Minnesota. The administration lashed out at those who failed to cooperate with efforts to detain and potentially deport immigrants.
The judge has taken the rare step of ordering information taken to a grand jury to be made public, although put that part of the ruling on hold to allow for DOJ to appeal or otherwise make the case that the deliberations should remain private. That process will extend into July.
“Nothing in this order or in the materials submitted to the court could possibly compromise a criminal investigation; as the court has explained at length, the Department is not conducting a criminal investigation, but is instead using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes,” Schiltz wrote.
He noted that the officials who were subject to the subpoenas “who appear to be the targets of the Department's misuse of the grand-jury process-want this matter disclosed.”
Schiltz was put on the federal bench by former Republican President George W. Bush and he clerked for the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia earlier in his career.
A DOJ spokesperson responded to Schiltz’s conclusions in a brief statement. “The Department takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters.”
Public officials targeted by the subpoenas issued statements welcoming the judge’s decision.
Walz called it a “victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”
In a written statement, Walz added, “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 facts are clear: the Trump administration is targeting me because I’m standing up for the people of Minnesota,” said Ellison, a DFLer who is running for another term in office.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also welcomed the decision, which he says upholds his First Amendment right to speak out against the administration’s immigration policies.
“Criticism of government action is not a crime,” he wrote. “One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve.”
Aside from Walz, Ellison and Frey, subpoenas for records were also issued to the office of St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and the governing boards in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.