A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to subpoena Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and several state and local officials, calling the move an effort to “harass and retaliate against them.”
In an unsealed ruling, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz found that the “dominant purpose” of the January subpoenas was to force Minnesota leaders into assisting with federal civil immigration enforcement.
The records demands targeted Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and officials in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The administration claimed the subpoenas were part of an investigation into whether local officials obstructed a federal immigration sweep in the Twin Cities.
However, Judge Schlitz ruled that the connection between the requested records and any criminal violation was “extremely weak to nonexistent.”
He noted that Minnesota has the legal right to decline to use state resources for federal immigration enforcement, concluding that the Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation, but is instead using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes.”
The decision follows other recent instances where federal judges or grand juries dismissed actions against high-profile Trump opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Minnesota officials praised the ruling. Governor Walz called the decision “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy,” adding that the case was an example of the Justice Department “pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents.”
Attorney General Ellison said it should “disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.” St. Paul Mayor Her described the subpoenas as “a politically motivated retaliation,” while Minneapolis Mayor Frey stated the federal probe was “never about justice, law, and order, but the absence of it,” adding that criticizing government actions is not a crime.
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