DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) filed a lawsuit Friday, against the Trump (R) Administration over its moves to take Over the City’s Police Department and Appoint an Emergency Commissioner, the Latest Sign of Pushback from District Officials against the Federal Takeover. The Case has been Assigned to Federal District Judge Ana Reyes, an Appointee of Biden (D). A Hearing has been Scheduled for 2 p.m.
“By declaring a hostile takeover of (Metropolitan Police Department), the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk,” Schwalb said in a Statement. “The Administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.” DC is also seeking a Temporary Restraining Order.
It comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) on Thursday Evening, Ordered the City’s Mayor and Police Department to Accept Terry Cole (R), the Head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as the District’s “Emergency Police Commissioner” and give Him Full Control of the Department during the Federal Takeover, quickly drawing Rebukes from the District’s Mayor and Attorney General, who suggested they would Not Comply.
Bondi’s Order formalized the Federal Government’s Control of DC Police and Directed Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the Metropolitan Police Department, to End the Capital’s Sanctuary City Policies. Bowser quickly Rejected the Order, writing on Social Media, “There is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”
“Let us be clear about what the law requires during a Presidential declared emergency: it requires the mayor of Washington, DC to provide the services of the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes at the request of the President,” Bowser said. “We have followed the law.” In a Filing as Part of the Lawsuit, MPD Chief Pamela Smith )D) said the Takeover places Officers and Residents at “Grave Risk.”
“In my nearly three decades in law enforcement, I have never seen a single government action that would cause a greater threat to law and order than this dangerous directive,” Smith said. It is, Smith wrote, “placing the lives of MPD officers and District residents at grave risk.” Smith Confirmed that She was “unaware of President Trump’s plans to assume control of the local police force until he announced it at a press conference” on Monday.
Friday’s Lawsuit marks a Forceful Response from City Leaders after days of Public Statements largely Appeasing Trump. Bowser has repeatedly said She wants to make sure the Federal Law Enforcement Surge is Useful to the City, though She struck a more Adversarial tone during an Event this week, calling Trump’s Police Department Takeover an “authoritarian push.” Schwalb Reviewed Bondi’s Order and Declared it Illegal, saying He determined the Home Rule Act did Not give Trump the Authority to Remove or Replace the Chief-of-Police, or Alter the MPD Chain-of-Command. “It is my opinion that the Bondi order is unlawful, and that you are not legally obligated to follow it,” Schwalb said in a Letter to Smith.
Schwalb wrote in the Letter the Act “does not authorize the President, or his delegee, to remove or replace the Chief of Police; to alter the chain of command within MPD; to demand services directly from you, MPD, or anyone other than the Mayor, to rescind or suspend MPD orders or directives; or to set the general enforcement priorities of MPD or otherwise determine how the District pursues purely local law enforcement. The Bondi Order is, therefore, ultra vires.”
Filed in U.S. District Court, the Suit argues the Trump Administration is “brazenly violating” the Home Rule Act, which gives the President Limited, Temporary Authority to Request MPD Services. “Congress did not grant the President authority to displace the Chief of Police, assert operational control over MPD, or rescind MPD policies — as the Administration seeks to do,” Schwalb said. “Congress also limited the President’s authority to requesting services for ‘federal purposes,’ such as protecting federal property or personnel — not dictating local enforcement of local laws.”
Bondi’s Order had further Directed MPD to Abandon a Directive Smith Signed earlier in the day, giving Officers Limited Ability to Share Information with Federal Immigration Officials. And, the Order said, MPD Leaders “must receive approval from Commissioner Cole before issuing any further directives.” Justice Department Officials believed that Earlier Directive was meant to Reinforce the Type of Sanctuary City Policies that DOJ has Vowed to put an End to. In addition to Ordering that the Directive be Rescinded, Bondi instructed Bowser to get Rid of Two additional Police Policies aimed at Protecting Undocumented Migrants, including One that Prevents MPD from Arresting an Individual solely for Federal Immigration Warrants.
This comes after Trump earlier this week, declared a Crime Emergency and Federalized DC’s Police, tapping Cole as Interim Federal Commissioner of MPD. Schwalb wrote in His Letter to Smith, that Trump and Bondi are now Overstepping their Legal Authority. “Having been duly appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council, you are the lawfully appointed Chief of Police of the District of Columbia,” Schwalb wrote to Smith. “Therefore, members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor.”
Bondi’s move makes clear that the Federal Police Takeover in DC will go Hand-in-Hand with the Trump Administration’s Hardline Immigration Enforcement Goals, using Control over Law Enforcement in the District, as a way to try to put an End to the City’s Laws that Protect Undocumented Migrants. “DC will not remain a sanctuary city actively shielding criminal aliens,” Bondi said in anIinterview on Fox News Thursday. “Will not happen.”
Christina Henderson, a Member of the DC City Council, also Responded to the Order on Social Media Thursday, writing “Respectfully, the Attorney General does not have the authority to revoke laws.” Earlier Thursday, Smith Signed an Executive Order allowing DC Police Officers to Share Information about People Not in their Custody with Federal Immigration Enforcement Agencies, as well as allowing Local Police to Assist with Transporting the Agencies’ Personnel and Detainees.
However, the Earlier Order, citing DC Law and Police Code of Conduct, continues to Prohibit Officers from looking through Police Databases solely for a Person’s Immigration Status, from making Inquiries about a Person’s Immigration Status “for the purpose of determining whether they have violated the civil immigration laws or for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration laws” and from Arresting Anyone based only on Federal Immigration Warrants.
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