That didn’t take long. Judge Bryan has denied United States Attorney Dan Rosen’s motion that he recuse himself in the habeas case of Tong Xiong’s. In his seven-page order, Judge Bryan holds that the motion is procdurally improper and substantively deficient. Alpha News has posted the order online here.
Judge Bryan suggests that the case brought against the Trump administration defendants in Minnesota v. Noem is nothing more than background noise in Xiong’s habeas case. “Accordingly,” he concludes, “no reasonable person could believe that marriage to General Kramer—who represents the State of Minnesota in its suit about federalism in relation to Operation Metro Surge—affects the undersigned’s view of habeas relief and documentation of Respondents’ return of Petitioner’s property.”
Judge Bryan all but calls Dan a liar concerning his denial of knowledge that the lawyer representing Minnesota in the big state lawsuit is Bryan’s wife. I doubt that to be true. Judge Bryan’s footnote 2 underakes to establish Rosen’s alleged knowledge while dancing around the issue. It is not a good look.
We know Judge Bryan didn’t mull the recusal issue over for long. Perhaps it is as easy as he says it is. Somehow, however, I doubt it.
It is a relief to know, as Judge Bryan tells us, that the only remaining issue to be resolved in the Xiong case involves Judge Bryan’s continued supervision of ICE’s Department of Lost and Found. On this point Judge Bryan irrelevantly asserts there is “no conflict” raised by the state’s lawsuit. That was also true of the some 28 cases in which Judge Bryan ordered Rosen himself to appear at the contempt hearing I attended earlier this month — his animus was evident.
Rosen had planned to confront Judge Bryan on his threat of contempt in the Department of Lost and Found hearing scheduled in the Xiong case. I understand that Judge Bryan has now canceled the hearing.
