Sandoval-Moshenberg asks Xinis to order that the government keep Abrego in detention within 200 miles so that his presence at hearing can be facilitated. Xinis says they can meet and confer with government on that, but Moshenberg responds that there's concern government will move him tonight.
I don’t get how after everything that’s happened in this case the judge isn’t just saying “yes that is now ordered”
Xinis asks Ensign if he can assure that Abrego won't be moved tonight. I'm happy to speak to my client, but I don't I don't have authorization to do so at this moment, he says.
We’ve seen this movie before.
Does Ensign sound like a lawyer who hates his client?
JFC! 🙄🙄🙄
Moving a prisoner around as tactic. Gov counsel can't give word won't be moved. Jfc
It's relatively normal for attorneys to say they lack authority unless they explicitly got authority to make a representation. There's nothing abnormal about that in particular. Obviously, there's a lot abnormal about the Government's bad faith in this case.
I get that. And, full disclosure I'm not American so no expertise here! but shouldn't DOJ have come prepared to address the issue and isn't the fact they didn't part of deteriorating view of gov counsel by the bench?
In an ideal world they would have been prepared to make that representation. And also ideally they could make it knowing that their client would listen to them. But the issue here is the client, not necessarily the attorney (although imo Ensign has behaved in bad faith himself at times in this case)
Who is his “client”? Doesn’t he represent the people? Help me out…🤷🏼♀️
Client is DOJ
The federal government in this case, he is the DOJ. He’s referring to #ICE or #DHS The good folks playing army rn 🤬🙄🤮
But is this proper, though? Is a federal agency the 'client' of a federal attorney/employee? Seems like they ought to be declaring that "the Government" or "the Administration" is the movant, not a 'client'.
The DOJ represents entities of the US government in a lawyer/client relationship. It doesn't matter that they aren't "hired" or paid for representation services. Within the government, lawyers provide advice to clients who have authority to take action under laws.
No, DHS.
Noem
*Gnome
I fear they will move him. Judge will admonish them, but otherwise able to do nothing. Then it dies a death by a thousand cuts over the next 4 years. I can’t say what I think should happen to Trump and those involved (I’m already banned on Reddit and others). 🤦🏼♂️😐
Xinis to Ensign: At least until we have a schedule set, I will order that he not be moved from where he is now, principally to have access to both criminal and habeas counsel. You let you know in the morning where your clients stand on that and I'll take it from there.
So polite to the fascists
The bove doctrine governs this order, no?
In the morning? He will be moved tonight. Guaranteed.
The judge ordered that he not be moved. And got the DoJ attorney to say that was sufficient. So if they do move him, it will be a clear violation of the order.
They don't care about violations.
No, but even this administration recognizes that their attorneys can't be hung out to dry. Xinis correctly put Ensign on notice that personal sanctions would accrue ("as an officer of the court") if the order is violated. Tough to get lawyers to work for you if you wave that off.
Sorry, but I doubt if these psychopaths care. People are expendable. The plane is in the air and all that.
If they violate it, that will be a line they haven't crossed yet. There's value in pulling their masks off, so everyone can see what we're dealing with.
Haven't crossed yet? Are you kidding?
Can you point me to an instance where they have directly disobeyed a court order, after acknowledging that the order was valid?
There are some folks in an El Salvador prison and a few pilots who would like to have a word with you.
When did they acknowledge that the order was valid?
Xinis asks Ensign if her oral pronouncement on that is sufficient or if she needs to issue a written order. Ensign says oral order is sufficient and he will relay that to his client.
bsky.app/profile/gran...
Judge got their number.
Jesus
He will 100% relay that, and they will 100% ignore it and move him anyway. “BuT yOu DiDn’T gIvE a WrItTeN oRdEr”
Her question is intended to place Ensign at risk of contempt and losing his license to practice. They almost certainly will not move him. Fingers, of course, crossed with these MoFos.
I see no reason why they wouldn't move him anyway. It's like a dare to the govt, and when does Trump ignore a chance to give the court the finger? "You can't tell ME what to do"
Aubrey, I totally get why you’d think that. And maybe you’ll be proved right. But the setup is dire: Xinis has laid a clear and unambiguous ruling; Ensign has acknowledged it and its force. He is screwed if Kilmer is moved.
I hope you're right.
Never give these people the option. Just make it written. They will screw you with your own leniency.
Why might she ask that question, I wonder? 🤔
Why would she possibly take his word for it? They’ve already demonstrated they’ll play games with oral v written orders
I can only assume she asked that with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
Write it down, issue the minute order and written verdict asap. This Government has shown a complete lack of regard for the rule of law and any spoken word orders.
This is like watching a horror film and having the urge to shout at the idiots on screen to not go into the creepy murder basement alone.
Put it in writing. That's been an issue before.
Ensign asks the judge if Abrego's counsel can clarify whether he has attempted to re-open immigration proceedings bc it will impact the arguments the government makes in its filings.
It's amazing to me how much the presumption of regularity for the government has been shrunk.
Sandoval-Moshenberg says that no motion to re-open has been filed at this time but he has served a reasonable fear notice on the government (requesting a credible fear interview prior to deportation to Uganda).
Oral order is sufficient (to get a bove bird) your honor
Sandoval-Mohenberg: If the government is sort of essentially stipulating that a motion to reopen is the proper procedural mechanism here...I can speak with Mr. Ensign about that this afternoon.
Sandoval-Moshenberg: Part of the issue here is that we're still not 100% clear as to what even the government's position as to what the process is. So to the extent that we can clarify that tonight, that'll be very, very helpful.
The Gov't's position is apparently to lie their ass off in court as much as possible, and keep kidnapping him and moving him around in a game a whack-a-mole as they try to get him to a torture/concentration camp in complete violation of all Civil Rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
You first
Judge Xinis: Ok, I'll look forward to your filing on the proposed schedule tomorrow. Shall we say 10 am? The parties agree. Ok...Anything else? Ensign says for the record that DOJ objects to the court's findings but will address basis in forthcoming filing.
DOJ objects!🤣🤣🤣 Because our lies are the truth
Didn’t want to lead with “we object”? You just want to tack it on at the end as everyone is trying to leave?
Pam Bondi
Thank you!!
"See you soon," Judge Xinis says to the parties. And we're done. Thanks to all who followed along! If you appreciate live threads like this one, I hope you'll consider supporting our non-profit newsroom. See you soon! givebutter.com/journalism/a...
Once again, thank you so much for live posting these court hearings, Anna! 🙏 The dedication to transparency is so needed & appreciated!!
Many thanks for your detailed reporting, Anna! 🦋🦋🇺🇦🇺🇦💙💙🌊🌊
Thanks, Anna! Great job. ❤️⚖️
"for the record that DOJ objects to the court's findings" translation You Old Hippie Leftist Judges keep telling us NO and to UPHOLD our sworn Oath to the Constitution but we'll be FIRED BY OUR client if we do Our Oath is sent to back burner as Loyalty is Paramount
Why the fuck is this man in custody.
@unroll.skywriter.blue Unroll pls
Good job as always. If you can please try to remember when live blogging these hearings, after abou half an hour 45 minutes start a new thread. leave a comment in the existing thread that a new thread has started. And thank you very much.
Thank you!
Thank you, Anna. Much appreciated.
📌
bsky.app/profile/nytp...
this lawless clusterfuck proudly sponsored by SCOTUS.
Thank you!! @unroll.skywriter.blue Thanks~
I’m really grateful for his legal team. Not a lawyer but as a dummy they seem like they are really doing a lot and fast. Judge Xinis too. Her making time for a call today etc. seems like a big deal.
Thank you!!!!
I'd feel more comfortable if Abrego-Garcia's attorney clearly records that meeting with Ensign.
I’m nervous the judge warned Ensign only orally about not taking him out of the country.
Everything Ensign says is qualified to indicate that he has no authority to make any assurances, and everything he says is based on his “understanding.” You can’t rely on anything he says.
How can it be legal to send someone to a foreign country not their own??? Isn't it a death sentence?? This is despicable
Not a lawyer but it seems to me that the next few hours are some of the most critical in America’s history — if the government removes Abrego Garcia from the US in direct defiance of Xinis’s order, we are well and truly past the Rubicon
@skyview.social unroll please.
I’m unclear as to what findings have been made by Xinis for the gov’t to object to..what findings? The hearing set for Friday is intended to sort out evidence & facts for Xinis to make any decisions; so I’m perplexed as to why the gov’t would object to something/anything not yet actually decided.
Xinis has a prior order still in effect, and there is a standing order, both amounting to “cannot deport Abrego before 4pm Wednesday. Those two are what Ensign objected to.
Drew Ensign will be the last one to realize that he is expendable when DOJ sends Abrego outside the U.S. again in violation of the judge’s order and Ensign gets criminal contempt. DOJ happy to sacrifice Ensign if it comes to it
calling this the department of justice is a joke the fact is this isn't about justice at all and it's that in NAME ONLY nothing to do with justice it's corruption and thuggery
💯 You know that's right!
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Ensign.
Gov says we don't like it,, and we are not going to listen to the courts ruling.
The DOJ insists that Trump can do whatever he wants to whomever he wants and his actions are never reviewable by any judge. I cannot wait to see the first DOJ person to end up in jail for contempt, it is surely coming.
She needs to write up that order NOW and send it NOW, via fax and email, to all parties. NOW.
Good luck with that, DOJ.
Ensign had to throw that in at the end becuase he is going to get an earful. The DOJ is so corrupt.
So he's going to go back on everything he just said.
Abrigos situation is literally Kafkaesque. The DOJ and ice just refuse to let this go even though he was swept up in an admitted administrative error. Pulled off the street, imprisoned, shuffled across courts, deported, brought back, charged, released, picked up, threatened with deportation again.
I object for no reason in particular will really make the record clear on appeal.
the process sure isn't 'due process'
3 card monte is the govt's position.
The government’s position is bad faith cruelty. I’ve seen nothing to the contrary.
Thank you Anna
this is so horrific I cannot even like it.
Im not exactly sure what they are getting at here
You can only move to reopen immigration cases once
Thank you
I would have taken a stone tablet to court and had the judge chisel her ruling on it.
His client make my head…catch 🔥
Why why why did Xinis ask this, when DOJ has lied about this issue before? And Ensign always states that he cannot speak for his client and will need to ask his client?
She asked it so if they move him Ensign can be held in criminal contempt and jailed, which he should have been as soon as Boasburg found out he was in CECOT.
That’s what I assumed, why she asked. But on appeal the Boasburg contempt finding was blocked. So, I guess ask anyway, just to make the DOJ lawyer say, effectively, that an oral order is sufficient.
"do I need to write it down in small words for you so you can't pretend to misunderstand this time?"
of course not Now they will say,, well she never put it in Writing so its not a legal order. like they did last time.
This take on the operative sufficiency of an oral order is a rather bold one from Drew Ensign now that his former superior has been confirmed to the Third Circuit bench...
; [](CIV) Fwd: Advice to DHS Hi. Does this get us comfortable with the notice as drafted earlier with the addition of the removed from US airspace line? Drew will be the slash s and make the ECF filing even [//] Begin forwarded message: Roth, Yaakov M (CIV) // 3/16/25 2:26:48 PM Roth, Yaakov M (CIV) 3/16/25 2:26:48 PM Flentje, August (CIV) Cc: Reuveni, Erez R. (CIV); Ensign, Drew C (CIV) Advice to DHS I have been told by ODAG that the principal associate deputy attorney general advised DHS last night that the deplaning of the flights that had departed US airspace prior the court's minute order was permissible under the law and the court's order.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o7ad7grtfxrmybroqi6dzl3k/bafkreicknrs7hfqqtr77ldlfespwowo66kox7j6x7guf7eczy6b6k4hyya@jpeg)
tell that to Judge Boasberg (#2)
If I were the judge, this question wouldn't be asked. The shady government lawyer would be told to have a seat while my clerk types up the order for my signature.
But probably doesnt matter if in writing or oral, DOJ doesn't obey orders if they don't want to.
Uh oh. Sure, they'll take oral order. Wish it were in writing.
My view? Oral pronouncement is not enough. Not with this regime.
Should have written it!
Oral order wasn't sufficient when Boasberg ordered the planes to turn around, when this ordeal began in March . . .
Exactly.
I think it will happen this time, too.
I’d think he’d want a written order just to protect himself from whatever the government might do next.
They've pulled this shit before. Xinis really ought to not let them even try to get away with it again.
No! It's a trap! That's how they got Boasberg.
How is Ensign still allowed to show up in court? Wasn’t there evidence via text between his co-counsels that he knowingly lied to Xinis in the previous Garcia suit?
She did end up issuing written order, for anyone wondering. I think she knew exactly what she was doing asking that question. She got Ensign on record acknowledging oral order is binding.
NEW: A docket note memorializes Judge Xinis's oral order forbidding the govt from removing Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the United States or from the Virginia detention center where he is now being held. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191...
Who is his client?
Completely valid question with Ensign. Xinis learned from Boasberg’s “error.”
What more does the judge need to witness in this country to know she absolutely should issue a written order!
Written or oral doesn't matter. They will still do what they want to do.
Has he already been moved, why arent they fighting this
Is it though????
Of course not
If he's wrong (as many of us suspect), he's the one who should be heavily sanctioned. I'm surprised the judge even gave them the opportunity; I would have done a written order right then and there and not let anyone leave until they had copies in their hands.
The Fascist regime will remove him tonight
Ensign is an a**hole. Who is his “client”?
Because they will remove him from the country tonight. thats the plan.
Based on past actions, he is not acting in good faith.
Which is why Xinis making this an extremely narrow order. She's already been burned by Ensign, Trump DOJ has zero courtesy given to it from now on
It would not be shocking to me at all if they moved him tonight anyway. Their conduct in these cases has been geared towards figuring out how far the judiciary will let them go. So far, thanks to the SCOTUS, the answer has been “as far as they want.”
Such complete bullshit & disregard for the court!!
Translation: He’s being moved tonight. How many times will they misrepresent the circumstances to the judges before they are held to account? So if this man is disappeared tonight, then what? All because the government keeps lying, making material mistakes, have been caught doing that.
Order him returned to Maryland!
WHY IS HE NOT BEING RELEASED RIGHT THE FUCK NOW??? I AM SO SICK OF THIS. MARYLANDERS GET OUT ON THE STREETS NOW. DEMAND KILMAR BACK IN MARYLAND NOW!
If they are unable to meet with client it should default to plaintiff.
Can’t Xinis just forbid it?
bsky.app/profile/josh...
Thanks!
I think she did, but Executive Branch might choose to break the law anyway.
Counsel does have authorization to inform client of what the court orders? Should go over well.
Can Xinis put DOJ lawyers in jail if Abrego Garcia is deported?
She can but she’s been trying hard over the entire ordeal to not take things that far with regard to representatives of the federal government. Is there a danger if she jails lawyers for contempt that the whole set of cases gets appealed upwards and she ends up as no longer the judge?
Uh huh. Riiiiiiiigggghhhtttt. He's in the paddy wagon right now. We all know it.
The Right of due Process ends today This is the staw that will break the camels back. The Admin is saying we can do what ever we want and no one can stop us.
XINIS emphasizes to Ensign: "Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States." ENSIGN: "Your honor, yes, we certainly understand that."
Is that actually what was said? It wasn’t what KAG lawyers were asking for.
NO
Ok, I now realize it was effective snark and Well done in tone and content.
Earned a block from me
I can see why. It threw me off. Perhaps I am becoming too forgiving in my old age, but the urge to “exasperate “ at DOJ is a strong one following their bs.
"As it turns out, there's a lot of junctures, and we were at a different one."
“We understand that” is not a confirmation that they will obey the order.
Oh, they will. Anything to muck up proceedings, and ensure they can punish him even more for THEIR mistake.
@skyview.social unroll please.
