This is a clear authoritarian signal and power grab, but trying to think practically since I’m getting exhausted with my own powerless exasperation with nothing to show for it:
To get an arrest warrant, you typically would need a judge to sign off on it. So either (a) another judge signed the warrant to arrest this judge, or (b) they falsely arrested the judge without a proper warrant.
I think (b) is possible with how slipshod Trump officials are, but more likely they followed the letter if not the spirit of the law, so (a). That suggests that there may be a pocket judge signing spurious warrants for Patel. This also makes more sense, since they likely need cover when assisting ICE, so they’d want someone in that role.
So in a healthy system, first would be Congress forcibly removing Patel. Probably every GOP congressperson’s response here will be “I haven’t heard about that, now I’ll walk away down this hall casual-like because frankly nobody is going to hold me accountable.” The other less direct approach would be to identify this judge then there may be a removal process. What other things can be done here short of revolution?
This is a clear authoritarian signal and power grab, but trying to think practically since I’m getting exhausted with my own powerless exasperation with nothing to show for it:
To get an arrest warrant, you typically would need a judge to sign off on it. So either (a) another judge signed the warrant to arrest this judge, or (b) they falsely arrested the judge without a proper warrant.
I think (b) is possible with how slipshod Trump officials are, but more likely they followed the letter if not the spirit of the law, so (a). That suggests that there may be a pocket judge signing spurious warrants for Patel. This also makes more sense, since they likely need cover when assisting ICE, so they’d want someone in that role.
So in a healthy system, first would be Congress forcibly removing Patel. Probably every GOP congressperson’s response here will be “I haven’t heard about that, now I’ll walk away down this hall casual-like because frankly nobody is going to hold me accountable.” The other less direct approach would be to identify this judge then there may be a removal process. What other things can be done here short of revolution?
The article doesn’t mention anything about a warrant. If there is a warrant, there is a record of the judge that signed it.
And that judge would have to have jurisdiction I think. So in either case, the answer is be prepared for shit
Edit: She was released on bond, meaning a judge validated the warrant, meaning there’s a warrant, and a judge who signed it. This is bad.