Trump's Threats to Imprison Minnesota Democrats Are Doomed. That's Not the Point.

"The federal government is considering whether to charge Minnesota officials with conspiracy to impede federal agents' immigration enforcement duties, but the case is clearly doomed to the same failure that met President Donald Trump's efforts to prosecute political adversaries New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. While those cases fell on technicalities, the investigations of the Minneapolis officials look likely to topple on more straightforward grounds:"

""The government may not take action based on the viewpoint of the speaker. Period, full stop," former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman explained to Slate. Litman hosts the Talking Feds podcast, and he explained that the DOJ appears to be going after Walz and Frey through a federal statute that makes it a crime for local officials to conspire to prevent, force, intimidate, or threaten an officer who is required to perform their duties."

The Department of Justice opened criminal investigations into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey days after Minnesota sued the Department of Homeland Security over the deployment of federal agents around the Twin Cities. State Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty face subpoenas related to the inquiries. Federal prosecutors are considering conspiracy charges alleging obstruction of federal immigration enforcement and are likely to use public statements by officials as evidence. Legal experts argue that prosecuting officials for public speech raises serious First Amendment problems and that such prosecutions risk political and legal backlash.

Read at Slate Magazine