A federal judge has quashed six Justice Department (DOJ) grand jury subpoenas issued to Minnesota officials and concluded they were part of an unconstitutional effort to pressure state and local leaders into assisting the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ruled June 17 on subpoenas served on the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis and St. Paul mayor’s office, Minnesota attorney general's office, and the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
“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,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
The DOJ didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” Walz said in a statement.
“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. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the law.”