‘We are arresting the mayor right now, per the deputy attorney general'

Politico

a day ago

Less than two weeks later, federal prosecutors dropped a trespassing charge against Baraka. But a federal judge chided the effort to charge him in the first place. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa called it an 'embarrassing retraction' that 'suggests a failure to adequately investigate, to carefully gather facts and to thoughtfully consider the implications of your actions before wielding your immense power.'
Baraka is the progressive mayor of New Jersey's largest city and at the time of his arrest was seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, an election he has since lost. Separately, he is suing the Trump administration for 'malicious prosecution' in a lawsuit that names acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba and Ricky Patel, a special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations' Newark Division.
According to a comparison of court documents filed in the Baraka and McIver cases, Patel is the special agent overheard on the bodycam footage referring to the deputy attorney general.
McIver tries to harness Trump immunity ruling
The new revelations about the episode came in legal briefs asking to have McIver's own case thrown out.
As part of that effort, McIver asked the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper, to rule that lawmakers have the same kind of immunity from prosecutions that the Supreme Court gave Trump.
Her attorneys said McIver's visit to the detention facility, known as Delaney Hall, was a legislative act she cannot be prosecuted for. They cited the Supreme Court ruling last summer that gave Trump immunity from criminal prosecution for some actions he took during his first presidential term while fighting to subvert the 2020 election.
McIver's attorneys also argued that she is facing intimidation and that Habba's office, which is prosecuting the case, is undermining the Constitution's 'Speech or Debate' Clause. That clause grants members of Congress a form of immunity that is mostly impenetrable in investigations relating to the official duties of lawmakers, their aides or other congressional officials.
The Department of Homeland Security said the argument is laughable.
'Suggesting that physically assaulting a federal law enforcement officer is 'legitimate legislative activity' covered by legislative immunity makes a joke of all three branches of government at once,' the Homeland Security Department's assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement.
If lawmakers don't continue to receive such protections, McIver's legal team warns of dire consequences for the country.
'If these charges are allowed to move forward, they will send a chilling message to Congress on the risk it takes when it scrutinizes the Administration's activities,' McIver's defense team wrote. 'The Speech or Debate Clause was designed to prevent that kind of message and intimidation.'
Former Sen. Bob Menendez — Rob Menendez's father — has tried to use the speech or debate clause to shield himself from corruption charges. He is now serving an 11-year prison sentence and appealing the conviction. McIver's attorneys cited a 3rd Circuit ruling against Menendez in 2016 — who was then facing different corruption charges that were later dropped — as making clear that members of Congress do have immunity for legislative actions but that the allegations against him were for things beyond the scope of that immunity. McIver's team argued the Menendez case 'could not be more different' from hers.
In another legal filing made last week, McIver also sought to dismiss the charges against her based on unconstitutional 'selective' and 'vindictive' prosecution, noting that the Justice Department walked away from prosecutions of hundreds of defendants from Jan. 6, 2021, despite clear video of many attacking police officers.