Trump official says he will not investigate Renee Judd’s killing

It’s hard to be shocked by anything the Trump administration does. But when Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News Sunday that the Justice Department would not investigate the actions of Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Judd on January 7, I will admit I felt a moment of shock.

“What happened that day has been reviewed by millions of Americans because it was recorded when it happened,” Blanche told anchor Shannon Brehm. “We don’t go out and investigate every time an officer is forced to defend himself against someone or put his life in danger, we never do that…

“We investigate when it is appropriate to investigate. That is not the case here… We will not bow to pressure from the media, from politicians. So no, we are not investigating.”

But Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison wasn’t surprised. He told me on Monday morning: “No, I was not shocked, because this is what we have been hearing on the ground for days.” “I was glad to hear him say that, because we can take him to court.”

Ellison and Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty promised to investigate Judd’s killing, but the Justice Department refused to share the evidence it had collected. “But if they don’t investigate it? How do they justify not giving us shell casings and cars? [Good’s and Ross’s]the pictures?”

Blanche got one fact right on Sunday: “Millions of Americans” have already seen the footage of Ross shooting Judd at point-blank range — and most of them believe the ICE agent was wrong. An amazing 82 percent of people Polled by Quinnipiac They said they had seen video of the incident, and the majority said Ross was wrong; His life was never “in danger.” A painstaking kit New York Times Analytics He examined several cell phone videos of the incident — including Ross’s video — and concluded that there was no evidence that Goode’s car ever hit the client. He shot her at least twice — one shot directly into her left ear — after she apparently drove the SUV away from him. There is at least a foot of daylight between the car and the ICE agent as he fires his final shots.

“I think this is the clearest sign that we have abandoned procedural justice and fully engaged in an outcomes-based system,” Ellison said. “Blue Lives Matter, so they support the democratic transition of power [on January 6]. “This is a clear hallmark of fascism.”

Blanche said this the same weekend we learned it was good He’s still alive When paramedics got to her, she wasn’t breathing, and her pulse was irregular, but it was a pulse nonetheless. At least 15 minutes earlier, moments after the shooting, a neighborhood doctor approached ICE agents and asked if he could check her pulse, and was turned away. “I’m a doctor!” He told them. “I don’t care,” the agent replied. I would like to know the name and position of that agent. His actions also deserve investigation.

Not only did the Justice Department refuse to investigate Ross, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instructed CBS’ Margaret Brennan not to even mention his name on the air. “Don’t mention his name! I mean, for heaven’s sake, we shouldn’t have people keep enforcing the law.”

“His name is public” Brennan answered. “I know that,” the puppy-killing Cabinet minister insisted, “but that doesn’t mean we should keep saying it.”

By contrast, the Justice Department is investigating Judd’s widow, Becca, for her ties to local activist groups, as well as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on charges of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Wednesday, Blanche called both men terrorists on X.

“Minnesota’s insurrection is the direct result of a failed governor and a terrible mayor who encourage violence against law enforcement. It’s disgusting,” he wrote on X on Wednesday. “Walls and Fry – I’m focused on preventing you from engaging in terrorism by any means necessary. This is not a threat. It is a promise.”

Sunday, Blanche said to Prim“I’ve seen the governor and the mayor actively encourage criminals to go out on the street and obstruct ICE. That’s not allowed under our law…and that’s what we’re looking at.”

Last week, at least 10 lawyers resigned from the Justice Department over the department’s failure to investigate Ross and push to investigate Becca Judd. Six came from the local U.S. Attorney’s Office, which also objected to preventing local law enforcement and prosecutors from investigating the shooting.

However, Ellison says his office and Moriarty’s office are Investigation already shooting, interviewing witnesses, and collecting evidence through an online portal. While some analyzes suggest it is difficult for state officials to prosecute a federal agent, Ellison insists otherwise. He told me: “No, it’s not like that.” “No, it’s not,” he admitted. “All law enforcement cases are difficult,” he admitted, but “to say that states must give up their authority to maintain order in their jurisdiction?” “We have the legal right to prosecute and the legal right to investigate.”

Although Ellison said he was not “shocked” by Blanche’s brazen assertion that the Justice Department was not investigating Ross, he acknowledged that it was evidence that “we are in a different kind of moment.” He said that before Trump, the Justice Department “would at least conduct some sort of investigation, empanele a grand jury,” while the agent would likely ultimately be acquitted. He said the idea that the administration no longer even has to pretend to follow the law — Trump said last week that only his “morals” constrain him — puts him in “dangerous” territory.

He added: “The big danger is thinking that there will be a ‘bounce back’ moment.” “There will be nothing that we did not create ourselves.”