Former prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys are alarmed by the Trump administration's "highly unusual" decision to kick local investigators off the probe into the deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Why it matters: Politicians on both sides rushed to weigh in on whether the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was justified. With so many officials making snap judgments — and the feds' lockdown of the evidence — widespread acceptance of the results seems unlikely.
- "This is what a cover-up looks like," said Dan Gelber, former federal prosecutor and Miami Beach mayor.
- "It's shocking to me that this is the route and the path that it's taking, because I do believe that it undermines the public trust in the government," said Eric Nelson, one of the defense attorneys for Derek Chauvin, a former police officer convicted in 2021 for the murder of George Floyd.
Driving the news: Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said on Friday that her office's concern wasn't with the FBI's own investigation, but with the lack of evidence sharing between her office and federal investigators.
- The Minneapolis Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions said the agency is being barred from the crime scene, evidence and interviews.
- Without evidence sharing to local prosecutors, her office can't evaluate the case for charges. Moriarty said it's typical that the FBI doesn't share all of its investigation with her office, which is why it's important to have the local cooperation.
- "Our goal must be to ensure that a thorough investigation is completed at the local level, that our community can have transparency," Moriarty said, stressing that her office does have jurisdiction to bring charges.
Catch up quick: The Justice Department blamed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), who called self-defense a "bullshit" reason for the shooting, for breaking ties with local investigators.
- Because of the comment, a Justice Department official said, "They have no intent to pursue a good-faith investigation."
- "Well, normally, I would, but they're crooked officials," President Trump said of sharing evidence with Minnesota officials.
Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President Vance have all defended the ICE officer.
- "Given my past experience, I think it is a dangerous precedent from both sides of the political spectrum to take such marked stances this early, because the rule of law requires an investigation," Nelson said.
Zoom out: "It's absurd to think the state can't investigate a homicide within the state and that somehow the federal government won't work with them. I've never seen this," said Gelber, a Democrat who successfully prosecuted four Miami police officers in the 1990s.
- Gelber also said the Minneapolis homicide echoes another Miami police case involving Officer William Lozano, who shot and killed a motorcycle driver against department policy on using firearms to stop motorists. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a similar policy.
- "I think this decision ultimately guarantees that there cannot be a fair and complete investigation of this shooting," former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger told Twin Cities radio host Chad Hartman.
- "As long as it's being conducted solely by the FBI, which takes direction from the president and from the secretary of Homeland Security, both of whom have already expressed their opinion that this was a self-defense shooting. How does one then turn around and conduct a thorough investigation which would involve a lot more than issues related to self defense," Heffelfinger said.
The other side: The Justice Department would not address the criticisms on the record, but a senior official in the department said the investigation would be thorough and fair.
- "The Mayor of Minneapolis has said that any claim of self-defense is 'bullshit.' They have no intent to pursue a good-faith investigation," the official said.
- "The precedent here is very simple," Vice President Vance said at a White House briefing. "You have a federal law enforcement official, engaging in federal law enforcement action: that's a federal issue. He is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job."
- A DHS memo on use of force from 2018 states that "use of excessive force is unlawful and will not be tolerated" and "will be subject to all applicable administrative and criminal penalties."
The big picture: Trump's interior immigration enforcement was unpopular before the shooting, and DOJ is reeling from a bipartisan chorus of critics accusing it of covering up the Epstein files, which the department denies.
- Minnesota's elected officials pleaded with the Trump administration not to surge immigration agents in the city, predicting that a violent incident like the shooting could occur.
- Mayor Frey and Gov. Tim Walz (D) repeated requests to withdraw the agents who were called into Minneapolis from across the country.
- Noem said at a recent press conference that she would not pull back the agents. On Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office announced an expanded fraud investigation in the state.
The bottom line: "If the American public doesn't believe in the investigation that's going to come out of this, we're even in more trouble than we were before this shooting," said Geoff Alpert, an expert in police use of force.
