A federal judge is demanding answers from the Trump Justice Department after prosecutors' splashy announcement about a fraud case went sideways.
In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Irick directed the government to name the people who wrote and posted a press release falsely claiming all 13 defendants in a Florida immigration fraud case were foreign nationals, according to a post on X by court records researcher Seamus Hughes. Those people must then explain in writing why they should not be sanctioned.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida put out the release Monday under a headline touting "13 Foreign Nationals Charged." Its opening line said the defendants were from Brazil and Cuba.
"That press release appears to both contain a false assertion and be in violation of Local Rule 3.11," Irick wrote. "In fact, all thirteen Defendants are not foreign nationals. Based on the hearings that occurred yesterday, the Court knows that at least one of the Defendants is a United States citizen. Others might be United States citizens as well."
The local rule bars lawyers and law enforcement agents from publicly disclosing information about a criminal case if it "will interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the administration of justice." Irick wrote that a defendant's nationality "is not the kind of information that may be disclosed," and noted the indictment identifies the nationality of only three defendants.
He also aimed at the release's final paragraph, which ties the case to a Homeland Security Task Force created under President Donald Trump's executive order titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion." That paragraph lists crimes of violence and crimes against children, none of which are charged in the case.
"There is no basis to provide incorrect or false or materially misleading information about the nationality of any criminal defendant in a public statement, especially when the information concerning foreign nationality is included for the purpose of aggravating the description of the charges," Irick wrote.
He added that the release came on the heels of the prosecutor named in the press release "providing what appeared to be incorrect information concerning a Defendant" at Monday's hearings. The release lists Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Bansal as the prosecutor on the case.
Irick reminded counsel that they are bound by the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, citing a local rule that allows the court to "disbar, suspend, reprimand, or otherwise discipline" lawyers who appear before it. The government has until Thursday to name those responsible, who must respond by the same day.