DOJ Official Resigns After Administration Charges Abrego Garcia

[struggle4progress]

6. Abrego Garcia is back but contempt and sanctions still on the table

June 9, 2025, 11:50 AM EDT
By Jordan Rubin

With Kilmar Abrego Garcia back in the U.S. after his illegal removal to a notorious Salvadoran prison, followed by months of Trump administration delay and defiance, the administration wants to focus on the new criminal charges it had waiting for him upon his return. But understanding what brought us to this point is crucial not only for how to think about the criminal case, but also because his civil case against the government isn’t over just because he’s back.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers reminded us of that Sunday in their latest court filing to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, the Maryland judge who ordered the government to facilitate his return back in April. The filing came in response to the Trump Justice Department’s request Friday to halt pending civil litigation over fact-finding into the government’s facilitation efforts, just after Xinis had approved Abrego Garcia’s lawyers’ bid to file a sanctions motion against the government, due Wednesday.

Responding to the claim that the civil case is now moot due to his return, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers reminded the Obama appointee that she “still retains jurisdiction to find contempt and impose sanctions” ...

Urging Xinis to keep the civil case alive, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said the government’s “wanton disregard for the judicial branch has left a stain on the Constitution” and that if there’s “any hope of removing that stain, it must start by shining a light on the improper actions of the Government in this tragic affair and imposing meaningful remedies” ...

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/abrego-garcia-returned-contempt-sanctions-trump-admin-still-table-rcna211782