That’s not exactly how the case is captioned, but the State of Minnesota, and the Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, have sued the federal government, asking for the removal of ICE agents from the state, or something.
The first few pages of the complaint read like a typical Keith Ellison press release, or a Minneapolis Star Tribune news article, but I repeat myself. Ellison cites as supporting facts events which have never occurred in our observable universe.
Some lowlights,
- Page 2, paragraphs 1, 4, and 5, describe “fear” of DHS. You will recall that freedom from fear was written into the Constitution during the FDR years.
- Page 2, paragraph 3, describes Operation Metro Surge as “a federal invasion of the Twin Cities.”
- Page 3, paragraph 5, cites the Tenth Amendment as authority for their claims. As a reminder, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Keith Ellison rests on a “states rights” argument. No, really.
I never attended law school, but don’t–you know–have to cite the law when you file a lawsuit?
- Page 42, paragraph 147, cites an alleged violation of a St. Paul parking ordinance.
- Page 61, paragraph 218, cites the state law against wearing masks in public (a law never enforced during the Covid years.).
- Page 71, paragraph 271, mentions the First Amendment.
And that’s it. Eighty (80) pages of complaints based on the First and Tenth Amendments, a St. Paul parking ordinance, and a state law against masking that the state refuses to enforce itself.
Based on these high crimes and misdemeanors, Ellison wants…what exactly? His long list of demands begins on page 77, but are all so vague that all I come away with are “stop doing things I don’t like.”
The case was assigned to a Biden-appointed judge. The state is asking for a temporary restraining order but a hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled.
However, that same judge will bold a hearing tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9 am on a very similar lawsuit filed by a group of private plaintiffs.
JOHN adds: I have briefly reviewed Keith Ellison’s complaint. I would describe it as stupid. It consists mostly of a political diatribe against the Trump administration, with page after page of the talking points with which we are all familiar. OK, fine, I thought: so what, exactly, is the cause of action?
There is none. As sometimes happens with plaintiffs who don’t have a good theory, Ellison substitutes quantity for quality. Thus, the complaint concludes with no fewer than 11 purported causes of action, all of which are farfetched. The complaint isn’t worth an extensive deconstruction, but I will say that it betrays no acquaintance whatsoever with the Supremacy Clause, or any understanding of what it takes to properly plead a cause of action.
Ellison’s case is a sad effort and isn’t going anywhere. It has been assigned to Judge Kate Menendez, a Biden appointee whom I don’t know. In fact, I don’t think I have ever heard of her. And if you check her bio, it says that she was, for quite a few years, a federal public defender and, from 1997-1999, a “Soros Justice Fellow.” I am not sure what that means, but it can’t be good.
Still, one way or another, this case is doomed. Keith Ellison has been a do-nothing Attorney General who has been AWOL during the greatest state government fraud scandal of recent times. He knows that his re-election bid is in trouble, as he has a very strong opponent in my friend Ron Schutz. So he is trying to change the subject by running against President Trump, who is not popular in Minnesota. This case is 0% law, and 100% politics.
