The U.S. Department of Justice is alleging misconduct by Minnesota judges in fielding media interviews about the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations here. The DOJ filed judicial misconduct complaints yesterday against U.S. District Court Judges Patrick J. Schiltz and John R. Tunheim, as well as other federal judges who remained anonymous in speaking to New York Times reporters and saying that the federal immigration surge threatened democracy. Listen to Matt Sepic’s reporting
on All Things Considered here
. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the judges’ comments to the newspaper were a violation of their ethical duties. And the department sought to have the judges recuse themselves from cases dealing with the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the public could view them as impartial. It also requested an investigation from the “improper and unethical conduct” judges that would be implemented by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. In a statement to MPR News, Judge Schiltz said he was acting “well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to the New York Times. Indeed, in February of this year, the Committee on Codes of Conduct issued an advisory
opinion to emphasize that federal judges may 'speak[] and writ[e] on core judiciary matters such as advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence.’ That is exactly what I did."
In other DOJ news, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said 10 defendants were indicted last week by a federal grand jury for voter fraud in Minnesota elections. The DOJ news release
allege the ten voted illegally, most in the 2022 or 2024 general elections and one in this year’s August primary election. The defendants come from several countries, including Liberia, Germany and Canada. “Voting in American elections is a privilege of American citizenship,” Rosen said in the release. “Stealing that privilege is a crime. When, in order to obtain a ballot, a non-citizen swears he or she is a citizen, we will prosecute.”
On a 30-minute news broadcast these days, you might encounter almost a dozen political ads. We kept our eyes on one Twin Cities evening television newscast this week to see how viewers are getting pummeled with campaign ads. Here’s what we saw over the course of the commercial breaks (not counting the news stories that also dealt with political issues):
-A Restore Sanity ad (anti-Amy Klobuchar);
-A Keith Ellison ad (split between the DFL attorney general touting his record and criticizing Republican rival Ron Schutz);
-A Michele Tafoya ad (introducing the GOP Senate hopeful and critical of DFL nominee Peggy Flanagan);
-A Lisa Demuth/state Republican Party ad (the GOP nominee compares her record to Klobuchar’s);
-An ad about a Wisconsin legislative race (critical of the Democratic candidate);
-An Amy Klobuchar ad (criticizing President Trump and outlining the DFL candidate’s platform);
-A Tom Tiffany ad (paid for by the GOP governor nominee in Wisconsin but entirely negative toward Democratic opponent David Crowley);
-A joint GOP/Shannon Zimmerman ad (promotes the GOP state representative in the Wisconsin legislative race);
-Same Tiffany ad as above;
-Same GOP/Demuth ad as above.
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Two of three state Senate Democrats whose seats are among top targets for Republicans this fall are asking the governor to make a temporary exemption on diesel that could cut costs for farmers.
Sens. Aric Putnam of St. Cloud and Rob Kupec of Moorhead, asked Gov. Tim Walz to allow farmers to use red dye diesel for use off the farm. State policies prohibit the lower-taxed diesel on roadways. But the senators said a temporary exemption could allow farmers to move crops without paying diesel prices that have jumped in recent months. "Minnesota farmers have always been resilient, but the cost of federal policies is crushing too many of them. It's now harvest time, when diesel consumption is at its highest, and they need relief,” the pair wrote. “It will give thousands of farmers across the state some much-needed financial breathing room to get them through what has been a
very challenging year." Another swing district Democrat, Sen. Grant Hauschild, of Hermantown, is set to hold a town hall with DFL Senate candidate and farmer Mark Legvold tomorrow in Northfield, appealing to federal leaders for relief of diesel prices. Several states have waived taxes or allowed exemptions to bring down the prices of gas and diesel.
Attorneys for former DFL State Sen. Nicole Mitchell argued that she was not granted the opportunity to make her complete case, and she should be re-sentenced.
Mitchell was convicted of a felony burglary charge for breaking into her stepmother’s home last year. During an appeals hearing in front of a three-judge panel, Mitchell’s attorneys argued she wasn’t given an opportunity to fully explain her actions in the trial that ultimately ended in her conviction for felony burglary. They say she held a belief — stemming from an incident in her life when she was 18 — that the victim in a crime had the power to decide whether to press charges, and that belief was central to why she told police she was breaking into the home to recover items. They say Mitchell thought if she said she was breaking in to do a welfare check on her stepmother, her
stepmother would be more likely to press charges. The attorneys said that, along with other missteps in the case, should require a resentencing for Mitchell. The state argued that Mitchell was given the opportunity to explain her thought process, and said it was taken into consideration by the court and jury. Mitchell, who resigned from her state Senate seat after her conviction, is now running for city council in Woodbury.
For the first time, Minnesota has statewide K-12 health standards. As Sam Stroozas reports, a Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings judge approved the standards on Tuesday, which could go into effect as early as the 2028-29 school year. The standards apply to students in grades K-12 and focus on topics like mental and emotional health, human growth and development, child abuse prevention, nutrition, sexual health, media literacy and drug and alcohol abuse and prevention.
U.S. Sen. Klobuchar to Senate colleague: ‘You don’t know ball.’ An exchange during a Senate hearing over whether or not former special counsel Jack Smith attended a basketball game in Atlanta went sideways for GOP U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri, when it was revealed that Smith had attended an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland, not an Atlanta Hawks game in Georgia. Several GOP senators were aiming to discredit Smith
, who investigated President Donald Trump over election interference, to paint him as a partisan aiming to bring down Trump. But when it became clear Schmitt was wrong about Smith attending the game, it turned out to be the story of the hearing. And Klobuchar put an even finer point on Schmitt’s gaffe. “Could it then be that the University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes? Could that be it? That might be the confusion over the names of the team,” she said. “I think people should have their facts right before they call someone a dirtbag and not get the teams wrong. You have the teams wrong, sir,” she added. Klobuchar, a candidate for Minnesota governor,
posted on X soon after the hearing, “As a Gopher fan, I know the difference between the Hawks and the Hawkeyes.” She appeared on several national TV outlets dunking on Schmitt and highlighting the exchange. Schmitt expressed no remorse for his comments.
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