Justice Department Files Complaint Against Judges over Immigration Enforcement Surge Comments – WTOP News
The complaint says seven judges gave politically charged interviews that undermined confidence in impartiality and should be barred from hearing Homeland Security cases.
- On Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche filed a judicial misconduct complaint against Minnesota federal judges, alleging they violated ethics rules by criticizing the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge in The New York Times.
- Operation Metro Surge deployed more than 3,000 immigration authorities to Minnesota starting in December 2025, sparking widespread protests and prompting federal judges to identify 96 court order violations in 74 cases.
- District Judges Patrick Schiltz and John Tunheim sat for interviews where they described the operation as a threat to democracy and questioned whether the administration was arresting dangerous criminals.
- Calling the judges' comments "overtly political" and a "flagrant violation," Attorney General Blanche requested the Eighth Circuit Court investigate and force recusal from all Department of Homeland Security cases.
- The filing follows a similar misconduct complaint against a federal judge last year, as the administration continues its aggressive stance against what it calls "activist judges" in ongoing legal battles.
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25 Articles
Justice Department files complaint against judges over immigration enforcement surge comments – WTOP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Justice filed a complaint Wednesday against federal judges in Minnesota over their remarks to the media related to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge. The complaint escalates the department’s battle with the federal judiciary, which has halted administration priorities, dismissed high-profile prosecutions and accused government lawyers in some cases...
'Violation of judicial canon': DOJ goes after Minnesota Judges over NYT interviews
The Justice Department took the unusual step on Wednesday of filing a judicial misconduct complaint against all but one of the federal district judges in Minnesota, after most of them spoke with the New York Times about concerns over the government's handling of cases during its surge in immigration enforcement earlier this year. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the filing of the complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circui…
DOJ seeks to censure judges who spokes to NYT about Minnesota immigration raids
The Justice Department on Wednesday took the remarkable step of seeking to censure both a former and sitting federal judge in Minnesota after they spoke to The New York Times about the Trump administration's immigration surge in the state. The two judges are Patrick Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, and Judge John Tunheim, an...
Justice Department alleges misconduct by ‘all but one’ Minnesota federal judge
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a judicial misconduct complaint to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, accusing “all but one” of Minnesota’s federal district judges of unethical conduct, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced in a press conference Wednesday. The complaint stems from interviews given by Judges Patrick Schiltz and others to the New […]
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