A MAGA Judge in Texas Was Called Out by a Colleague for Trying to Steal a Case in Rhode Island

"Judge Mary McElroy did not just tell the Justice Department it had no authority to demand all this highly sensitive information based on healthcare “fraud” that wasn’t fraud at all. She also scorched the DOJ lawyers—and specifically one high-ranking official, Lisa K. Hsiao—for deeply unethical behavior. She wrote that Hsiao’s assertions to the court were “at best, deceptive, if not intentionally and knowingly false.” And she said the “presumption of regularity” that the DOJ “could be taken at its word—with little doubt about its intentions and stated purposes—no longer holds.”"

"Judges flaming DOJ lawyers from the bench has been a pretty steady drumbeat over the past 16 months. But it seems to me that this is something more: an epitaph for the DOJ’s credibility that could have real consequences for its ability to prevail in future cases that have nothing to do with this one. Donald Trump’s Department of Justice thinks it has found a way to deal with the many judges who refuse to tolerate its unethical behavior: forum shopping key cases to MAGA judges across the country who are much more likely to reward underhanded tactics."

"The administration road tested this method in immigration cases by shuttling noncitizens to Southern detention centers within the jurisdiction of far-right courts. DOJ lawyers then pulled a similar trick to enforce a subpoena against a Rhode Island hospital that provided gender-affirming care to minors—only to see it blow up in their face. On Wednesday, Judge Mary S. McElroy shot down a federal subpoena seeking medical records and personal data of these children. She castigated department attorneys over their “appalling” and “reckless di"

A newsletter offers weekly coverage of under-the-radar legal developments involving Trump and how law responds. Judge Mary S. McElroy ruled that the Justice Department lacked authority to demand highly sensitive healthcare information tied to alleged “fraud” that was not fraud. The judge criticized DOJ lawyers, including Lisa K. Hsiao, for deeply unethical behavior and stated that assertions to the court were “at best, deceptive” and possibly knowingly false. The judge said the “presumption of regularity” no longer applied because of doubts about intentions and stated purposes. The DOJ has used forum shopping by targeting MAGA judges, including in immigration cases, and attempted a similar approach in a Rhode Island hospital subpoena, which the judge rejected.

Read at Slate Magazine