Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump Plays with Fire as Judge Nears Contempt

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

The contempt clock against the Trump Administration and their violating a federal court order affirmed 9-0 by the Supreme Court to return Armando Abrego Garcia from the dank prisons of El Salvador is about to strike midnight, as Judge Xinis has just granted permission for his lawyers to file their motion for contempt. Michael Popok explains what just happened in a series of new orders from the Court. Get this exclusive offer when you use promo code LEGALAF at https://MagicSpoon.com/LEGALAF Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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connex ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Judge Zinnis, Maryland federal judge, she's had it. She's now giving the other side finally in the Abrego Garcia case the right to file a motion for contempt sanctions against the Trump administration because they're playing fast and loose with the rules and they still keep a Brego Garcia, a man never charged with the crime, either in Venezuela, in El Salvador, or in the United States, they keep him in a El Salvadoran gulag where he sits today, despite the Supreme Court 9-0 ruling that he needs to be returned and facilitate his return by the Trump administration. They refuse to do it.

They refused to tell the judge why they're not doing it. And now the judge has had it. She's ordered them to produce all their documents. She's produced them. Ultimately, they're gonna be sitting for more depositions. And now she's finally given the green light to a Braygo Garcia's lawyers to file that motion for contempt.

I'm gonna break it down for you right here on the Midas Touch Network on Michael Popak and Legal AF. All right, let's go back in time. Donald Trump tried to use the Alien Enemies Act to get rid of over 250 people and send them to El Salvador to a gulag, high security penitentiary operated by El Salvadorians,

President Bukele, several months ago, back in April. The 250 that were sent, one of them was named Armando Abrego Garcia, a man who lived in Maryland. He's married to a US citizen. Donald Trump and everybody around him claims that he's a member of MS-13, a gang, and therefore he had the right to send him to El Salvador. The problem with that is there was no due process and there was no ability to exercise

or rid of habeas corpus to get him into a courtroom before he was sent there. His wife caught him on a video of men being unloaded into this jail. Donald Trump has taken the position that he's allowed to do it because he's a criminal, although there have been no criminal charges. And more importantly, there was an order of protection, an order of non-removal entered by a US federal judge, an immigration judge that said Armando Abrego-Garcia

could not be sent to El Salvador because he could be killed there. And knowing that ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, put him on a plane and sent them there. He's been sitting there for several months ever since. Now, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in several rulings, but one in particular about Armando Abrego Garcia,

nine zero, that the Trump administration must facilitate his return, his release from that prison. Facilitation can take many formats, make a phone call, diplomatic channels. I don't know, break in and go get them out, do a prison break. I don't know what it is, but the Supreme Court also empowered Judge Zinnis,

who they said is doing everything right in her case about administrating justice and making sure the constitutional due process protections are enforced and are protected. I said, you judge, find out from the other side on a regular basis with updates, what is happening with the facilitation? Nothing.

Trump administration said they're not gonna tell her. Marco Rubio said he'll never tell a federal judge despite order, what did they're doing or not doing diplomatically. First, they say it's diplomatic then they say they're never gonna bring him back then they taught the judge with newspaper articles that they mock up literally mock up to read he's never coming home he's never coming back they mock sitting US senators from in this particular one from Maryland saying you're never gonna see your our Brie L. Garcia back in the United States. And in this and they then they bring in for

this scripted cosplay Kabuki theater thing in the White House. They bring in President Bukele from El Salvador, this tiny little country that Donald Trump says, well, it's with him. I can't bring him back. And Bukele says, I would never smuggle a person back into the country like that. And Donald Trump said, I would never ask you. All before the watchful eyes of the federal judge, Zinnis. And she gave the other side the right to build their case for sanctions, in this case, sanctions for contempt, for violating that order. That order, affirm nine zero by the United States Supreme Court, who has subsequently issued two other orders,

seven to two and six to three, also in this very area that stand for the proposition that somebody in the shoes of a Braynill Garcia needs to have habeas corpus rights, due process rights, adjudicated by a federal judge in the United States. And you already have the Trump administration in a case involving a mass, pending in Massachusetts, already trying to get another Abrego Garcia

back from Mexico and saying they're going to do it, but they're digging in on Abrego Garcia. More importantly, they're filing sealed motions, which keeps the public's prying eyes away from them. I don't even know what they say. The press doesn't know what they say. And the press has intervened. There's 14 different news organizations that intervened and said, we need to look under the hood here, Judge. Everything's being filed, sealed and redacted, big black pages. We can't do our reporting. We have a First Amendment right and so does the public to know what's happening. She's finally ruled in their favor.

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You know, sunshine is the greatest disinfectant. We need it. It's a public. We have a public criminal justice system with a public docket for a reason because not just the prosecution and the defendant have rights and a right to sit at the table of public justice but the public does too. We don't do things in secret. We don't have start chambers and that's a good ruling by the judge but the best ruling is her paperless order that came out today. Paperless order means it's just a docket entry without more granting

permission. We'll put it up on the screen, granting permission to the movements, the Ibrego Garcia side to file their motion for sanctions and giving them a date and deadline in order to do that. So let's take a close look at that one. It says simply but powerfully, plaintiff's request for leave to file a motion for sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 is granted. Plaintiffs shall

file their motion no later than June 11th, one week from today. Defendants shall file their response seven days later. That's it. Look, she's going to end up, I've said this before, I'll say it again, she is going, Judge Zinnis is going to use her inherent authority and then under rule 37 to sanction the Trump administration for failing to comply with her order as supported by the 9-0 ruling of the United States Supreme Court. You can't get the United States Supreme Court to agree on an order from Sweet Greens, let alone 9-0 on a major immigration and deportation order.

And that happened. And she's now empowered. And as I've joked, there is no more powerful judge than a federal judge. There is no more powerful federal judge than one that's been confirmed and affirmed nine zero by the Supreme Court. She's in the right. And the movements, the Ibrigo Garcia side are doing the right thing to bring this motion. She will be the second judge to find them in contempt. Remember, or I'll tell you straight, tell you first, that Judge Jeb Boesberg, the chief judge of the DC Federal Court, found probable cause to find the Trump administration

in criminal contempt, meaning somebody's going to jail. That is on hold because he found they've similarly violated orders to ground those very same planes that Abrego Garcia was on to take them to El Salvador when he ordered them to be grounded and wheels down. Wheels down and snack table up and chairs in an upright position and they went anyway over his ruling. Now that's up on appeal with the DC Court of Appeals. She

will be the second judge to find contempt, I assure you, and I would bet on it she's gonna find him in contempt because it's right. I'll continue to follow it all right here on Legal AF and on the Midas Touch Network. While you're here, come over to the LegalAF YouTube channel. We're continuing to grow that pro-democracy channel. I curate the channel. I got about 12 different amazing contributors at the intersection of law and politics. We want to be your one-stop shop for all that hot corner. Come over to LegalAF MTN and subscribe. All these filings that we're talking about, I post on the LegalAF sub stack, another community that we're building about I post on the Legal AF sub stack,

another community that we're building in collaboration with the Midas Touch Network. We have them under Filings AF. If it's about the Supreme Court, we have it under SCOTUS AF. I have a Morning AF, a briefing every day. So help us build that pro-democracy channel. And I got a brand new podcast, just to have the overflow of information. And I'm just chomping at the bit Tuesday nights, Minus Touch, 8 p.m. Eastern time, a show we call now The Intersection with Michael Popock. Join me every Tuesday night on the Minus Touch Network for that. So until my next reporting, I'm Michael Popock. me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack, you'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call,

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