Overview
- A December 3 order unsealed Tuesday cites emails showing Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh labeled the case a “top priority” weeks after Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation.
- Judge Waverly Crenshaw said the documents suggest Acting U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire was not the sole decision-maker and that the charging decision may have been made in coordination with DOJ leadership.
- Crenshaw compelled production of specified DOJ records, finding “some evidence” of possible vindictiveness and noting the government’s privilege claims may be outweighed by due process concerns.
- The judge postponed the criminal trial and set a January 28 evidentiary hearing, while declining for now to compel testimony from senior officials such as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
- Separately, immigration authorities told a court they do not plan to re-detain Abrego Garcia while a judicial order barring detention remains in effect, and he remains on release in Maryland after prior rulings.