Overview
- Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw unsealed a Dec. 3 order noting internal emails in which Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh called the case a “top priority” shortly after Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation.
- The judge said the records suggest Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire was not the sole decision-maker and that Washington officials were involved, potentially contradicting prior government representations.
- Crenshaw reviewed more than 3,000 documents and directed the government to produce a subset to the defense, overruling blanket privilege claims in favor of Abrego Garcia’s due-process rights.
- The court canceled the January trial date and scheduled a Jan. 28 evidentiary hearing, with the government bearing the burden to rebut a preliminary finding that vindictiveness is reasonably likely.
- Separately, ICE told a federal court it will not re-detain Abrego Garcia while an order barring detention remains in effect, after a Maryland judge ordered his release earlier this month.