(Nashville) A newly released order in the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia reveals that top Justice Department officials insisted that he be charged, calling the case a “top priority” after he was mistakenly deported and returned to the United States.
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Mr. Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty in federal court in Tennessee to human trafficking charges. He is seeking dismissal of the case, saying the prosecution is vindictive — a way for President Donald Trump’s administration to punish him for the embarrassment resulting from his mistaken deportation.
To support this argument, he asked the government to hand over documents that reveal how the decision to prosecute him in 2025 was made for an incident that occurred in 2022.
On December 3, Federal Judge Waverly Crenshaw issued a sealed order requiring the government to provide certain documents to Mr. Abrego Garcia and his lawyers. This order was lifted on Tuesday and sheds new light on the case.
Judge Crenshaw had previously concluded that there was “some evidence” that the proceedings against Mr. Abrego Garcia could be motivated by a spirit of vengeance. In particular, he cited a statement by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on a Fox News show that seemed to suggest that the Justice Department had indicted Mr. Abrego Garcia because he had won his wrongful deportation case.
Rob McGuire, who was acting attorney general for the Middle District of Tennessee until late December, argued that those statements were irrelevant because he made the decision to prosecute alone and had no animosity toward Mr. Abrego Garcia.
In the new order made public, the judge writes: “Some documents suggest not only that McGuire was not the sole decision-maker, but that he actually reported to other members of the Justice Department and that the decision to prosecute Abrego may have been a joint one.” »
Justice Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The human trafficking charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where Mr. Abrego Garcia was arrested for speeding. There were nine passengers in his car, and state troopers discussed among themselves the possibility of human trafficking; he had finally been allowed to leave with only a warning.
The case was referred to Homeland Security Investigative Services, but, according to court records, there is no record of an attempt to charge him before April 2025.
The order does not provide many details about the contents of the documents given to Mr. Abrego Garcia, but it shows that Aakash Singh, who works under Mr. Blanche in the assistant attorney general’s office, contacted Mr. McGuire about the Abrego Garcia case on April 27, the same day Mr. McGuire received a file on the case from Homeland Security Investigations. This occurred several days after the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mr. Abrego Garcia on April 10.
On April 30, Mr. Singh indicated in an email to Mr. McGuire that prosecutions were a “top priority” for the assistant attorney general’s office, according to the order. MM. Singh and McGuire continued to communicate about the legal proceedings. On May 15, Mr. McGuire sent an email to his staff to let them know that Mr. Blanche wanted “Garcia to be charged as soon as possible,” Judge Crenshaw reported.
On May 18, Mr. Singh wrote to Mr. McGuire and others asking them to retain the draft indictment until they obtained “authorization” to file it. “This implies that the authorization would come from the office of the deputy attorney general,” emphasized the judge.
A hearing on the motion to dismiss the case for malicious prosecution is scheduled for Jan. 28.
