U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One in Davos, at Zurich International Airport in Zurich, Switzerland January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
At least five Minnesota officials were hit with subpoenas over an allegation from President Donald Trump's administration that they are actively obstructing justice by refusing to cooperate with federal agents in the state.
While other state leaders have done similar things, none have been charged with obstruction of justice.
CNN host Erica Hill said she was speaking to another prosecutor, and was told that sending a subpoena to top officials isn't the way to investigate someone.
Former prosecutor Sarah Krissoff told Hill in an interview Wednesday that it's hard to see any world in which such charges stick.
"If they want to be overt about it, they certainly can, you know, issue a subpoena to someone," Krissoff said. "The really sort of unprecedented issue here is the nature of this investigation. I mean, these officials have spoken out against ICE operations.
There's been a lawsuit filed that's pending in federal court in Minnesota."
Suddenly shifting gears to a criminal investigation and demanding documents sets up a "showdown" between federal, state and local officials, she said.
Krissoff explained that the Justice Department has "broad discretion" when opening an investigation, and they can use the "slimmest of innuendos or beliefs" to investigate. Bringing charges, however, is a different matter.
It "is what we've seen, frankly, in connection with these other politically motivated prosecutions of politicians that have been unsuccessful in other jurisdictions," she said, referencing prosecutions against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
"So, I mean, I think it is one thing to issue a subpoena and sort of, you know, try to make a show of force here. I think it will be an entirely different thing to try to proceed with some sort of charges or any type of charges, frankly," she said.
When addressing the protesters in the church, Krissoff said there are many threats of charges or arrest, but actually making charges "stick" is another matter.
"The DOJ is very clearly trying to bring the full force of itself down upon people," she said. "But at the end of the day, it is very hard to imagine these types of charges stick, and that they go forward. And, ultimately, criminal charges in our country have to be decided by a jury, right? The DOJ doesn't get to decide whether someone is guilty or not."
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