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In a ruling from last week that was unsealed on Monday, US District Judge Patrick Schiltz blocked the subpoena issued to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials, accusing the Justice Department of using its investigatory powers to retaliate against state officials for not cooperating with federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
Between the killings of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, the DOJ issued subpoenas to the offices of Walz, Frey, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Democratic St. Paul Mayor Kaohly, along with the board of commissioners of Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
Those subpoenas sought records related to cooperation with federal immigration enforcement dating back to the start of last year, including guidance issued to local and state employees regarding interactions with federal authorities.
The judge determined that the “dominant purpose” of the federal subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”
“And, of course, this campaign played out against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s well-established history of using criminal investigations to retaliate against and pressure the President’s political and personal adversaries,” Schiltz, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, added in his 29-page ruling made public on Monday.
