Taxpayer funded Politico is reporting tonight that MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Gqrcia is trying to get the judge to issue a gag order on both Attorney General Pam Bondi and DHS Secretary Noem, claiming their comments threaten is ability to get a fair trial.
The judge is an Obama appointee.
Here’s the reporting:
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is asking a federal judge to order Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to stop publicly attacking him as his criminal trial on immigrant smuggling charges approaches.
The request submitted Thursday to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville is the third time defense attorneys have complained that public statements from government officials are threatening Abrego’s right to a fair trial. It follows a torrent of invective in recent days from President Donald Trump, Noem, Bondi and other close Trump allies, who have leveled salacious allegations against Abrego that he fervently denies.
“Further intervention from the Court is necessary to protect Mr. Abrego’s right to a fair trial and the integrity of these proceedings,” Abrego’s attorneys said. “The government’s ongoing barrage of prejudicial statements severely threaten — and perhaps have already irrevocably impaired — the ability to try this case at all — in any venue.”
The latest motion takes aim at recent statements and disclosures — some in the wake of Abrego’s release from criminal custody on Friday and others after he was re-arrested by immigration officials on Monday.
While the motion notes and objects to several public statements by Trump, it does not explicitly call on the judge to rein in Trump’s public comments. Abrego’s lawyers also pointed to a DHS post on X Monday that showed video of Abrego shortly after his arrest.
“He doesn’t belong here. He won’t be staying here. America is a safer nation without this MS-13 Gangbanger in it. Good riddance,” the DHS account said.
The latest motion takes aim at recent statements and disclosures — some in the wake of Abrego’s release from criminal custody on Friday and others after he was re-arrested by immigration officials on Monday.
While the motion notes and objects to several public statements by Trump, it does not explicitly call on the judge to rein in Trump’s public comments. Abrego’s lawyers also pointed to a DHS post on X Monday that showed video of Abrego shortly after his arrest.
“He doesn’t belong here. He won’t be staying here. America is a safer nation without this MS-13 Gangbanger in it. Good riddance,” the DHS account said.
The defense motion also noted that DHS shared a White House social media post that evoked Obama campaign imagery while labeling Abrego as an MS-13 gang member. Abrego’s lawyers have denied that he’s a member of any gang.
In response to the earlier defense motions, Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, reminded the attorneys and investigators of their obligations under local court rules that are aimed at preserving defendants’ right to a fair trial. The judge also said officials “working with” prosecutors needed to “ensure that any proper public communications include that the indictment only contains allegations.”
The new motion asks the judge to go further and demand that prosecutors explain what steps they’ve taken to limit public comments by the agencies involved in the case.
Spokespeople for DHS and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.