A federal judge has thrown out six grand jury subpoenas issued by the Trump administration to Minnesota state and local government offices, including those of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, finding that the demands were retaliatory and legally improper.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz concluded that the Justice Department used the subpoenas as a way to pressure Minnesota officials into assisting with federal immigration enforcement after they had gone to court to challenge Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration initiative.
The subpoenas targeted a range of offices and governing bodies, including the Minnesota governor’s office, the state attorney general, the offices of two Minnesota mayors, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
In his decision, Schiltz said the grand jury process cannot be used to force political opponents into taking official actions, especially when the federal government lacks the authority to compel those actions directly. He described such conduct as “a blatantly unlawful and unethical use of the grand-jury process.”
“The only question, then, is whether the challenged subpoenas were issued for one of these forbidden purposes,” Schiltz wrote. “The Court has no doubt that they were.”
Schiltz also found that the Justice Department had not offered a credible investigative reason for the subpoenas, writing that the department “has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification for the subpoenas.”
The dispute grew out of Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement effort launched under the Trump administration. Minnesota state and local officials sued in an effort to halt the operation, and the subpoenas were issued after that legal challenge was filed.
Walz welcomed the decision in a statement, calling it “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”
“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” said Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness – in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”
Ellison said “it should disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”
The subpoenas “a politically motivated retaliation against our city for lawfully standing up to ICE and fighting for our residents,” Her said in a statement, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Frey said the investigation was “never about justice, law, and order, but the absence of it.”
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“Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency,” he said.
Frey also observed that criticizing government action is not a crime.
“One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
contributed to this report.
