Judge castigates Trump administration for ‘bad faith’ in Abrego Garcia’s deportation case

A federal judge reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is ignoring court orders obstructing the legal process and acting in bad faith by refusing to provide information about the policies they have taken if any to free a mistakenly deported man from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U S For weeks Defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this Court s orders U S District Judge Paula Xinis wrote an the order Tuesday Defendants have known at least since last week that this Court requires specific legal and factual showings to patronage any claim of privilege Yet they have continued to rely on boilerplate assertions That ends now She gave the administration until p m Wednesday to provide those details The U S Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration nearly two weeks ago to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia s return to the U S from a notorious Salvadoran prison rejecting the White House s claim that it couldn t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him Trump administration authorities have pushed back arguing that it is up to El Salvador though the president of El Salvador has also revealed he lacks the power to return Abrego Garcia The administration has also argued that information about any measures it has taken or could take to return Abrego Garcia is protected by attorney-client privilege laws state secret laws general establishment privilege or other secrecy rules But Xinis commented those asserts without any facts to back them up reflected a willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations It s not the first time the Trump administration has faced a scathing order from a federal judge over its approach to deportation cases A three-judge panel on the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals scolded the administration last week saying its claim that it can t do anything to free Abrego Garcia should be shocking That ruling came one day after a federal judge in Washington D C ascertained probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador in a different legal affair Democrats and legal scholars say President Donald Trump is provoking a constitutional emergency in part by ignoring court rulings while the White House has stated it s the judges who are the trouble