The New York Times reports a clash between a federal judge in Rhode Island and a Trump administration lawyer continued to escalate on Thursday after judges in the district appointed a special counsel to investigate potential misconduct.
In April, Judge Melissa R. DuBose released Bryan Rafael Gomez on bond, despite the fact that Gomez was wanted for murder in the Dominican Republic
Two days later, President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security did not hesitate to publicly blast DuBose in a posted a news release as an “Activist Biden Judge” who is soft on crime.
“This is yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities,” DHS blared in an April 30 post. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country.”
But the problem with that, however, is that Trump’s administrative prosecutor, Kevin Bolan, knowingly failed to alert Judge DuBose about Gomez’ murder charges before she released him. According to the Times, Bolan withheld that pivotal information on advice from the Homeland Security Department.
Infuriated, Judge DuBose called the withheld information a “serious breakdown” in legal ethics, and said further inquiry was needed into possible violations of Mr. Bolan’s duty of candor to the court. She said she would also consider imposing sanctions on the Homeland Security Department for misconduct
Bolan apologized, “but acting on behalf of the district’s three life-tenured judges, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. chose Niki Kuckes, a law professor at Roger Williams University and a former clerk of Justice Antonin Scalia, to investigate the issue,” reports the Times.
“Kuckes will write a report that will inform the judges’ decision about whether to open ‘formal disciplinary proceedings.’ If the court finds that Mr. Bolan engaged in misconduct, it could impose punishments that range from a reprimand or fines to disbarment,” said the Times, citing the court’s local rules.
Meanwhile, DuBose has repeatedly asked Bolan to have D.H.S. take down its press release implying that she knowingly released someone accused of homicide.
“Her court’s chief deputy clerk has said that D.H.S.’s rhetoric ‘risks inciting threats against members of the judiciary’ and ‘undermines respect for the rule of law.’
Despite repeated requests and Trump’s own department withholding Gomez’ information, the page was still live as of Thursday afternoon.
