The Justice Department filed an ethics complaint Wednesday against seven federal judges in Minnesota over their public comments about pressure on the courts during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge, according to PBS NewsHour and Al Jazeera.
The judges spoke to The New York Times about a flood of cases during Operation Metro Surge, which Al Jazeera said brought thousands of arrests in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area from December through February. PBS reported that the group included judges nominated by Democratic and Republican presidents. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the comments showed “obvious bias” against the administration and called for the judges to step aside from cases involving the Department of Homeland Security.
The department alleges the judges breached judicial ethics by discussing the cases publicly. The complaint comes amid broader disputes between the administration and the federal judiciary, PBS reported.