Judge Mulls Contempt Over Dhs’ ‘patently False’ Allegation In Deportation Case

A federal judge said Monday that the Trump administration had put her security at risk by posting a “patently false” allegation that she knowingly released an ICE detainee with an international warrant for murder.

Justice Department attorney Kevin Bolan profusely apologized to Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose for the press release posted last week by the Department of Homeland Security, which Bolan acknowledged “simply was not true.”

Bolan said that he didn’t tell the judge about the foreign arrest warrant because Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials instructed him not to. The officials, Bolan said, were concerned that law enforcement in the Dominican Republic, where the warrant was issued, had not signed off on sharing that information.

But DuBose noted that the Trump administration itself had publicly disclosed the existence of the warrant in a press release earlier last month. She also noted that the April 30 release slamming her — “Activist Biden Judge Releases Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder”— remained online Monday.

“The April 30th, completely erroneous and dangerous press release is still on their website,” the judge complained, adding, “It puts people at risk. It’s a threat to judicial security.”

“I’m not trying to make this political,” the Biden appointee added. “It’s also very important that the public has the facts. As long as this particular post is out there, it’s setting up a false narrative.”

DuBose appeared particularly aggrieved that Bolan knew about the arrest warrant and intentionally withheld that information from her, although she later said she believes that ICE is primarily responsible for what she called “misconduct.” She noted that if there was a legitimate concern about confidentiality, Bolan could simply have filed something under seal to alert the judge.

DuBose said at the hearing Monday that she is considering whether to hold officials from DHS or DOJ in contempt of court for their handling of the situation. “There was a serious breakdown in the ethical codes here,” the judge said. She deferred until Tuesday a discussion of whether the immigrant, Bryan Rafael Gomez, should be taken back into custody.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to answer questions about DuBose’s comments and Bolan’s disavowal of the press release and instead referred POLITICO back to the release.

The episode is the latest example of friction between the Justice and Homeland Security departments, which have frequently found themselves at odds in court when pressed by judges about violations of court orders, inaccurate information and other missteps amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

Justice Department offices have complained that they are overwhelmed by the deluge of emergency lawsuits brought by ICE detainees, leading to dropped balls, missed deadlines and other mistakes. Political leaders of both departments have insisted they have the resources and bandwidth to execute Trump’s immigration agenda, despite mounting evidence that multiple DOJ offices across the country have buckled under the weight.

DuBose said that the court has generally had a strong relationship with the U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island but that the false accusation and the withholding amounted to “a massive breach of this court’s trust.”

“It’s going to take a while to rebuild that trust. I believe that we can,” the judge said.