A key criminal case could soon get tossed because of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s comments
CNN reported on April 11 that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s public statements about Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran national whom the government wrongly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador — may lead a federal judge to dismiss human smuggling charges against Abrego Garcia on grounds of vindictive prosecution. Blanche publicly linked Abrego Garcia’s Maryland civil lawsuit (filed to challenge the wrongful deportation) to the reopening of a criminal investigation, prompting federal Judge Waverly Crenshaw to find a presumption that the charges were brought to punish Abrego Garcia for exercising his legal rights. Judges and legal scholars have characterized Blanche’s conduct as evidence that the DOJ is being weaponized to retaliate against individuals who sue the government. The case represents a stark example of senior legal officials using prosecutorial power as a tool of political intimidation.