McIver heads to court as watchdog group files complaint against Alina Habba
At her arraignment in Newark, McIver will plead not guilty, spokesperson Hanna Rumsey said. McIver is accused in a three-count indictment of slamming a federal agent with her forearm, 'forcibly' grabbing him and using her forearms to strike another agent.
Allegations of physical violence by a sitting member of Congress are rare, with a handful of incidents including the pre-Civil War caning of a senator by a member of the House.
McIver's allies, including two other Democrats who were with her during the incident, have decried the charges as political and have said she was roughed up by federal agents. Her allies are also trying to turn the tables on the federal prosecutor bringing the case, the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba.
The Campaign for Accountability, a liberal watchdog group, filed a complaint this week against Habba with the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics.
The complaint alleges Habba has acted improperly since becoming a prosecutor and cites her actions in the McIver case, along with comments about turning 'New Jersey red' and announcing investigations into its Democratic governor and attorney general over immigration.
A spokesperson for Habba did not respond to a request for comment.
'In an atmosphere where other oversight bodies are caving to political influence, the bar's duty to independently enforce these rules is ever more important,' the group's executive director, Michelle Kuppersmith, said.
Habba, who represented Donald Trump in court between his presidencies, is already facing a lawsuit brought against her by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested for trespassing at the detention facility before the charges were dropped and a judge questioned Habba's judgment.
When she first announced charges against McIver, Habba said she had 'made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Rep. McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined.' The watchdog group's complaint alleges it was improper to say the charges were contingent on McIver taking actions ordered and approved by Habba.
Campaign for Accountability filed a similar complaint in New York against another federal prosecutor, Emil Bove, after he moved to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The New York attorney grievance committee declined to act and instead transferred the complaint to the Department of Justice.
The charges against McIver are an extraordinary stress-test for the separation of powers at a time in which Trump is seeking to maximize executive branch dominance. In recent weeks, New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander was handcuffed and arrested by federal agents while escorting migrants from immigration hearings and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference.
Neither Lender nor Padilla have been charged with anything. The two Democrats who were with McIver outside the immigration facility — Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez — have also not been charged.
The three New Jersey Democrats have said they were at the immigration detention facility exercising their oversight duties and were roughed up by federal agents. Since their oversight visit, several detainees escaped and there were reports of poor conditions inside the facility, which the private company that runs the facility has denied.
McIver appeared virtually at a previous hearing in May, after charges were filed but before a grand jury returned an indictment. She was allowed to appear remotely from Washington because Congress was in session. Since then, the indictment has put her case in front of U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
17 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Minnesota man sentenced to 59 years for crash that killed 5 young women
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man was sentenced to nearly 59 years Thursday for causing a crash that killed five young women who were out making preparations for a friend's wedding. Derrick Thompson admitted his guilt for the first time and begged for forgiveness at an emotional sentencing hearing. He said he was sorry for what he did and 'there is not a day I don't ask God why he didn't take me instead and let your beautiful angels still be here,' the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. But relatives and friends of the victims offered no forgiveness at the hearing. Instead, they attacked Thompson for waiting until his sentencing to admit his crimes and putting their families through two criminal trials. A state court jury convicted the 29-year-old from the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide for the June 2023 crash that killed Salma Abdikadir, Siham Adam, Sabiriin Ali, Sahra Gesaade and Sagal Hersi. His defense claimed during the trial that Thompson was not the driver of an SUV that ran a red light and plowed into a Honda Civic. The victims, between 17 and 20 years old, were on their way home from preparations for a friend's wedding. Their deaths sparked sorrow and outrage in Minnesota's sizable Somali American community. 'I hope reality suffocates you for the rest of your life,' said Sundus Odhowa, Siham Adam's older sister. 'You should never know freedom again. You should never know peace.' Authorities say Thompson was driving a rented Cadillac Escalade SUV at more than 100 mph (160 kph) down a freeway in Minneapolis before exiting, blowing through the red light and smashing into the sedan in which the young women were riding. Minnesota inmates typically serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on supervised release. With credit for 767 days of time already served, Thompson could go free in about 37 years. Thompson, who already had a felony record, was convicted separately in November on federal drug and firearms charges. He's still awaiting sentencing on those counts. Thompson is the son of a former Democratic state representative from St. Paul who was sharply critical of police during his one term in office.
Boston Globe
17 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump really wants to stop talking about Epstein: A timeline
July 22 In his most recent attempts to redirect the conversation from Epstein, the president has unleashed a barrage of attacks against former President Barack Obama — an old but reliable target for Trump. For years, Trump promoted the lie that Obama was not legitimately elected because he was not born in the United States, a publicity stunt that significantly raised his profile in the Republican Party before his 2016 run for president. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up On Tuesday, during a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines on trade issues, Trump accused Obama of treason, and said that the time had come for his opponents to face criminal charges. Advertisement Later that evening, during a reception with Republican members of Congress, Trump renewed his attacks against Obama, falsely claiming he had used deception in the 2016 election. He also plainly stated his intent to use the attacks against the former president as a means to distract reporters and deflect from negative news coverage, suggesting to his fellow Republicans that they respond to 'inappropriate' questions by reporters by saying, 'Oh by the way, Obama cheated on the election.' Advertisement July 20 On Sunday, Trump spent the day posting on social media about pretty much everything other than Epstein. He started by celebrating strong poll numbers, then went on to urge the Washington Commanders football team to take back its old name, the Redskins. (In another post, he threatened to derail a deal for the NFL team to build a new stadium in Washington, D.C., if it did not comply.) 8:07 a.m. My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain 'troublemakers.' 10:17 a.m. The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. Later that afternoon, he resorted to attacking longtime political foes such as Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and posted a fake video of Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. He also posted a three-minute compilation video of stunts. An hour later, he was back to political attacks, this time targeting Samantha Power, the former administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. 2:03 p.m. Adam Schiff is a THIEF! He should be prosecuted, just like they tried to prosecute me, and everyone else. 7:56 p.m. HOW DID SAMANTHA POWER MAKE ALL OF THAT MONEY??? July 17 Following The Wall Street Journal's report that Trump sent a letter with a lewd drawing to Epstein for his birthday decades ago, Trump fired off a number of posts on Truth Social that follow a well-worn playbook for responding to reporting he disagrees with: Deny, attack and threaten to sue. Advertisement 8:33 p.m. The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued. First, Trump declared the report fake and threatened to sue, which he did the very next day. He also offered a concession for those in his base who have been demanding the release of all information about the Epstein case: 9:07 p.m. Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now! Many of Trump's supporters had been openly flirting with revolt, which could be one reason he also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of Epstein. In his post, Trump made it clear that he still thought this was unnecessary. (A federal judge in Florida denied the administration's request Wednesday.) In his last post that evening, Trump primarily reiterated his first post, although he included an interesting denial: 'I don't draw pictures.' 9:57 p.m. The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Advertisement Trump regularly donated drawings to charities in New York in the early 2000s. Moreover, the drawings, many of which appear to be done with a thick, black marker and prominently feature his signature, are not dissimilar to how the Journal describes the image on the birthday note to Epstein. July 16 After becoming increasingly exasperated by reporters' questions about Epstein's death, as well as attacks on Bondi, Trump went from gently coaxing his supporters to move on from the case to actively attacking those who continued to speak out about it. He castigated them as 'weaklings' and disavowed them as 'PAST supporters' that 'have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker.' 9:43 a.m. I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore! Later that day, he also made an announcement that took Coca-Cola by surprise. 4:19 p.m. I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better! A spokesperson for Coca-Cola would not immediately comment on whether it had agreed to do so, and Trump's version of events ultimately proved somewhat misleading. On an earnings call days later, the company said that it would begin offering a cane-sugar version of Coke in the United States this fall 'to complement the company's strong core portfolio.' But it is not replacing high-fructose corn syrup in existing products. Advertisement July 12 5:21 p.m. What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. After days of bruising attacks on Bondi from influencers within Trump's far-right political coalition for failing to produce promised new evidence on Epstein's death, Trump addressed his supporters directly, wondering aloud why they were choosing to undermine his administration by going after one of his own top officials. The post came after a simmering battle between Bondi and Dan Bongino, the deputy head of the FBI, burst into public view over the Epstein case. This article originally appeared in .
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration delves into MAGA distractions in deviation from the so-called Epstein files
President Donald Trump and his administration have been delving into distractions for their Make America Great Again base in deviation from its handling of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges related to the trafficking and sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls. His life and death have been the center of conspiracy theories, notably among Trump's base, as the feds have been tight-lipped about the evidence collected. The Trump administration has been facing backlash after the Justice Department and FBI said in a memo released earlier this month there was no client list of Epstein's associates who may have partaken in his crimes and Epstein did indeed die by suicide. Trump announced last week he had requested Attorney General Pam Bondi to release certain Epstein files, 'subject to court approval.' 'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' he wrote on Truth Social. Trump and his administration have instead worked to focus on other issues, from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination to the names of Washington and Cleveland sports teams, to one of his Democratic foes, former President Barack Obama. The White House denied these moves are a distraction, telling the Independent, 'It's absurdly rich for the media to speculate about attempts to distract the American people when that has been their modus operandi for decades.' On Sunday, Trump took to social media to attack Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, Samantha Power, former administrator of the U.S.A.I.D., and he also posted a bizarre AI-generated video of Obama being arrested and thrown in jail. Regarding the fake Obama video he posted, Trump appeared to have been referring to comments made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who told host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures Obama had orchestrated a 'years-long coup' to keep Trump from the White House. On Friday, Gabbard announced she was referring Obama administration officials, including ex-FBI Director James Comey, to the Justice Department for prosecution over allegations they had 'manufactured' intelligence to substantiate the idea that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump won the election over Clinton and became president in 2017. House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, rebuked Gabbard's claims. 'It's a day that ends with 'y' and Donald Trump desperately wants to change the subject, so Director Gabbard is rehashing decade-old false claims about the Obama Administration,' Himes said in a statement Monday. Himes said every 'legitimate' probe into the matter found 'no evidence of politicization and endorsed the findings of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment.' Trump has also called for the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians to revert their names to the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians, respectively. He even went as far as to threaten the Commanders' new Washington, D.C. stadium deal, writing on Truth Social Sunday: "I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.' On Monday, the Trump administration released more than 230,000 pages of federal documents related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination. Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, called out the irony. 'Trump releases MLK Jr files…. Didn't limit it to 'pertinent' and 'grand jury.' So do the same for Epstein,' he wrote on X late Monday. Also on Monday, the Justice Department announced it honored Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's request for information related to the FBI's handling of its probe into Clinton's emails. The FBI had investigated Clinton's use of a private email server for official communications during her time as secretary of state under Obama. No charges were filed against Clinton. When asked if the administration is trying to distract from the Epstein drama, Harrison Fields, special assistant to the president and principal deputy press secretary, told the Independent, 'It's absurdly rich for the media to speculate about attempts to distract the American people when that has been their modus operandi for decades, which is why no one believes the garbage being spewed at them. The only distractions are the media's continued obsession with non-stories and their refusal to report on what's actually happening: the execution of the most consequential six months of any administration and the success of the President's agenda.' House Democrats have also criticized their Republican colleagues for blocking efforts to force the release of the Epstein files. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told progressive political YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella Monday, 'For years Republicans promised to release the Epstein files…now they have the opportunity…and they refuse to do so,' adding, 'I have a simple question for the Speaker and Republican leaders and members of the House of Representatives on the GOP side: What are you hiding from the American People?" Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, wrote on X late Monday, 'Ummm so let me get this straight: Republicans have ground Congress to a halt and are considering adjourning the entire House for 6 weeks to avoid releasing the info they have on Epstein? What is going on here?' She was responding to an X post from Politico's Meredith Lee Hill, in which she wrote, citing unnamed sources, the House Rules Committee will likely not meet at all this week amid the Epstein drama and other issues. Congress will recess for August. Hill said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, 'confirms to me it's 'not likely' Rules return - meaning House would leave without advancing immigration and several other bills.' Most Americans think the Trump administration is covering up evidence in the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's federal case, according to a new poll. A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov from July 11 to 14 found 67 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding evidence related to the late financier. Only 8 percent of respondents believe the government is not covering up evidence about Epstein, while 25 percent are unsure. When asked if the government should release all documents relating to the feds' Epstein case, 79 percent of respondents said it should. Only 5 percent said the government shouldn't release the files, and 17 percent were unsure.
