US Justice Department files complaint against seven Minnesota judges — CNBC

In the United States, the Department of Justice filed a complaint over a possible violation of judicial ethics by federal judges in Minnesota after their interviews with The New York Times about immigration cases. The department also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to recuse seven judges who, according to the newspaper, spoke with it from all cases involving the Department of Homeland Security.

Justice Department complaint

According to CNBC Top News, the interviews concerned immigration cases in the state, and the judges criticized actions by President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce immigration law. The Justice Department is asking the Eighth Circuit court, which hears cases from the District of Minnesota, to investigate what the department called improper and unethical conduct by the judges.

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Judges mentioned in the complaint

The complaint specifically mentions Judges Patrick Schiltz and John Tunheim, whom The New York Times quoted by name. Other judges, according to CNBC, spoke with the newspaper anonymously.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. said in the complaint that Schiltz and Tunheim violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges through their comments. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that, in the Justice Department’s view, the seven judges’ communications with the newspaper about cases, some of which are still ongoing, constitute an obvious violation of their ethical obligations.