Trump admin turns its own courtroom blunder into attack on judge

The Trump administration is doubling down on its war with a federal judge in Rhode Island — even though Justice Department attorneys were responsible for her move to release a potentially dangerous person into the community.

"The top lawyer at the Homeland Security Department has doubled down on the department’s dispute with a federal judge, labeling her an 'activist' and claiming that the Trump administration was justified when it withheld information from her in an immigration case," reported The New York Times. "Melissa R. DuBose, a federal judge in Rhode Island, referred an administration lawyer for possible discipline last week after he acknowledged that he had failed to inform her that Bryan Rafael Gomez, a migrant she was preparing to release from detention, was facing homicide charges in the Dominican Republic."

The Trump administration had publicly attacked DuBose for Gomez's release, without disclosing to the public that they hadn't told DuBose about the warrant.

According to the DHS general counsel James Percival, writing in a recent column, DuBose's misconduct referral of a DOJ official is part of an "intimidation campaign" against the Trump administration.

"The court declined to comment on Mr. Percival’s allegations. Instead, it referred to a previous statement from its chief deputy clerk, who called the news release 'deeply troubling' and 'wholly inappropriate,'" said the report. "A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island did not respond to a request for comment."

All of this comes amid reporting that federal judges, who have long given weight and credibility to the claims made by DOJ lawyers, are being forced to reevaluate and treat all such claims with skepticism as courtroom lies from the Trump administration pile up.