Another curious aspect of this is that the administration is reportedly considering invoking the state secrets doctrine to avoid disclosing information concerning the flights.
>>>Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Cabinet-level discussions were happening Friday to discuss whether
President Donald Trump should invoke the state-secrets privilege to avoid disclosing information about
deportations of Venezuelans under the
Alien Enemies Act, . . .
But
Attorney General Pam Bondi led Justice Department lawyers in arguing that revealing information about the flights could lead to "catastrophic" harm to foreign affairs.<<<
Trump's Cabinet is discussing whether to invoke a state-secrets privilege to avoid revealing info on Venezuelan deportations, which a judge demanded.
www.usatoday.com
AG Bondi:
>>>“They’re meddling in foreign affairs. They’re meddling in our government,” she said. “And the question should be, why is a judge trying to protect
terrorists who have invaded our country over American citizens?”<<< (emphasis added)
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5204161-bondi-judge-flight-deportation/
Okay, if these are terrorists that invaded our country, and disclosing information about the flights would catastrophic, why didn't the administration file in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court? No, I'm not making this up, there is a court specifically created by congress to deal with this exact situation (if the administration's claims are to be believed).
>>>In 1996 Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court as a special court . . . The statute authorized the Attorney General to draft an application for removal of a suspected alien terrorist, and to submit the application to the removal court
under seal. A single judge may grant the application upon a finding that the alien in question has been identified correctly as an alien terrorist present in the United States
and that removal under other available legal means would pose a risk to national security.<<<
Information on individual courts includes judge lists, succession charts, legislative history, district organization, meeting places, records and bibliography…
www.fjc.gov
And, it's an expedited process:
>>>(d) Expeditious and confidential nature of proceedings
The provisions of section 103(c) of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (
50 U.S.C. 1803(c)) shall apply to
removal proceedings in the same manner as they apply to proceedings under that Act [
50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.].<<<
www.law.cornell.edu
And, low and behold, there are procedures in place, helpfully titled
"ALIEN TERRORIST REMOVAL PROCEDURES"
Searchable text of the Subchapter V. ALIEN TERRORIST REMOVAL PROCEDURES (US Code), including Notes, Amendments, and Table of Authorities
www.govregs.com
Here's what's required:
>>>(D) a statement of the facts and circumstances relied on by the Department of Justice to establish probable cause that—
(i) the alien is an alien terrorist;
(ii) the alien is physically present in the United States; and
(iii) with respect to such alien, removal under subchapter II would pose a risk to the national security of the United States.<<<
Gee, this looks the perfect law and the perfect court for this situation. Fast, confidential, no need to post a statement (supposedly) signed by the president at night a few hours before the planes were in flight, followed by a sh*t load of sanctimonious blather about terrorists, crazy judges, highly critical security information that supposedly cannot be disclosed to a court, etc.
Why not use this law? Perhaps Trump was concerned about potential due process issues? (BWA HA HA HA, after the process the administration actually used?)
I more or less expect Trump to blast the American people with huge loads of bullsh*t, but Bondi is a disgrace to the legal profession.
