A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials in an immigration enforcement probe. The judge found that the subpoenas were issued to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.

Background

Tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders escalated in January as federal immigration officers clashed with protesters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. President Donald Trump even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests and accused Walz and others of encouraging protesters to disrupt Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

The subpoenas seeking records were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement actions. The judge ruled that there appeared to be ‘extremely weak to nonexistent’ connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation.

Reaction

Walz called the ruling ‘a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.’ The Justice Department said it ‘takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters.’

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.