From The Hill newspaper,
Abrego Garcia asks for gag order on Bondi, Noem.
Yes, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, or more accurately his attorneys, has returned to federal court with his latest grievance. The Hill reports,
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are asking a federal judge to issue a gag order against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, to bar them from making “baseless public attacks” against the Salvadoran national.
They are saying mean things about our precious Maryland Man, and they must stop. This reminds me of the kangaroo court lawfare waged against Pres. Trump in 2024, which always seemed to feature gag orders preventing Trump from pointing out the kangaroo court, lawfare aspects of the farce. But here, the shoe is on the other foot.
In Abrego’s case, the full 15-page motion can be read here, if you care to, which I do not. Skimming the document, I come away unsure exactly what specific statements Abrego considers to be false or baseless, rather than his merely reciting statements that he doesn’t like.
Is he trying to argue that he is not an “MS-13 gangbanger” because he, in fact, belongs to a different gang? Abrego has been indicted on felony-level crimes in federal court and faces deportation proceedings in Immigration Court. It may come as a shock, but prosectors (Bondi and Noem, respectively) say inflammatory things in public about defendants. If these attacks were “baseless” they would not have met the probable cause standard to move forward with their respective cases.
The Politico version of the story notes that this yesterday’s filing marks the third time he has made this exact same complaint, to no avail.
I’ve been following the case for months and the Abrego response always falls along the lines that his prosecutions are conducted out of personal animus towards him or in the interest of political gain.
I hear lots of ad hominem attacks on his accusers but have seen no evidence that Abrego did not abuse his wife, did not engage in human smuggling, or does hold legal status to be the country.
But the one think I know for certain regarding the Maryland Man case is that he is not lacking for due process.
