President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice wasted no time filing charges against podcaster and former CNN anchor Don Lemon and other people for daring to interview a pastor at an anti-ICE protest inside a Minnesota church.
A mere two days after a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, the DOJ filed a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, on Jan. 20. Those charges targeted eight protestors (later expanded to 30 defendants) with violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and conspiracy to violate rights.
On March 18, the court sought to delay the trial, designating it “complex within the meaning” of the law, and excluding the Speedy Trial Act to give the parties adequate time to prepare. But now Trump’s perpetually understaffed attorneys are seeking to delay information submission deadlines an additional 90 days.
This, said Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko, is surprising.
“… [The] Court is troubled by the inference in the government’s most recent motion that it has yet to produce any discovery to Defendants,” Micko wrote on Friday.
He added that “This is particularly concerning given that the pace and cadence of discovery was an issue before the Court in February, resulting in the Court commenting that “rolling discovery appears consistent with [the Court’s] interpretation of the government’s discovery obligations.”
“It seems that comment has been ignored,” said the judge. “So, here we are, months into a case that the government had an intense appetite to initiate, but cannot seem to keep up the pace when it comes to discovery obligations. This is unacceptable.”
In January, Lemon and Fort claimed they were present for the event as journalists covering it, but the federal indictment against them describes them as "agitators" along with the rest of the protesters, who “entered the Church in a coordinated takeover-style attack.”
Now, DOJ lawyers can’t seem to provide the evidence for their claims fast enough.
In the aftermath of controversy and demands of loyalty to Trump, Trump’s DOJ has had difficulty finding staff to replace fleeing attorneys. In its desperation, Trump’s DOJ is now loosening hiring requirements for federal prosecutors, saying new applicants no longer need have any attorney experience to get a job. They can be fresh out of college.
