Now that it has been MAGAfied and weaponized, ICE probably lied in the affidavit. But, being MAGAfied, ICE have been grossly incompetent and ignorant of the law. The affidavit falsely claimed that Columbia University was “harboring” students by refusing ICE access to nonpublic campus areas without judicial warrants. ICE simply ignored the fact that only immigration judges, not ICE or the State Department, could determine lawful status. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, harboring requires proof of intentional concealment or shielding of noncitizens from detection, a standard not met by the university’s refusal to grant warrantless entry. The judge’s failure to demand clarity on these distinctions shows either ghastly ignorance of immigration law, or MAGA-style contempt for it.
It’s a Trump judge!: The judge who authorized the defective ICE search warrant targeting Columbia University student dorm rooms was Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Lehrburger, appointed to his position on October 30, 2017, was nominated under the Trump administration and has been a federal magistrate judge. This is more evidence of djt MAGA weaponizing ICE, the federal judiciary and immigration enforcement against dissent. The affidavit was a fig leaf for ICE and the judge to justify planned unconstitutional searches and arrests.
It’s a Trump judge!: The judge who authorized the defective ICE search warrant targeting Columbia University student dorm rooms was Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Lehrburger, appointed to his position on October 30, 2017, was nominated under the Trump administration and has been a federal magistrate judge. This is more evidence of djt MAGA weaponizing ICE, the federal judiciary and immigration enforcement against dissent. The affidavit was a fig leaf for ICE and the judge to justify planned unconstitutional searches and arrests.
Magistrate judges are appointed by federal district court judges to eight-year terms. One of their primary jobs is to rule on search warrants and preliminary proceedings, as in this case. They are there to protect the 4th Amendment prohibition against illegal searches and seizures. Given the blatant illegality of the ICE search warrant affidavit, it is reasonable to believe that Lehrburger is a corrupt, authoritarian MAGA judge who holds the rule of law in contempt, just as djt does.
Lehrburger should be impeached and removed from the bench. But given how MAGA operates, djt will probably nominate him for a permanent federal judge position. One can consider what is a gigantic boo-boo to be Lehrburger’s formal application for a federal judge position under djt.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
NBC News reports about a DoJ plan to publicly shame people who it wants to criminally prosecute but can't find evidence for an indictment: DOJ 'weaponization' group will shame individuals it can't charge with crimes, new head says. djt appointed elite MAGA thug Ed Martin to head the DoJ’s “Weaponization Working Group.” This group was established by Attorney General and criminal MAGA thug Pam Bondi in response to a djt EO. The MRS (MAGA revenge squad) will investigate prosecutors who previously launched investigations into Trump and his allies. The MRS knows it will almost always find little to no evidence of illegality. But the DoJ has been ordered by djt to do something!
Hence thug Martin’s brilliant idea of shaming people who broke no laws but instead tried to vindicate laws as part of their jobs. Martin said at a press conference that the MRS will “name and shame” people it believes did “bad things to the American people” but cannot be charged with any crime. What bad things? Investigating and prosecuting crimes by djt, the traitors in djt’s 1/6 coup attempt and other MAGA elites.
In a gigantic blast of insulting cynical mendacity, Martin said that transparency is the MRS’s top priority. He hypocritically argues that exposing what happened is necessary to avoid the appearance of politically motivated prosecutions, which he accused the Biden administration of conducting in secret. What a lying, morally rotted, scumbag & hypocrite.