Lawfare reporter Anna Bower needled the Justice Department on Tuesday afternoon after a filing misattributed a quote from a lower court judge to the Supreme Court.
The lawyer representing Kilmar Ábrego García, a Maryland father whom the government admitted it sent to El Salvador in error, called out the Justice Department for failing to comply with a judge's discovery order.
"The parties have requested that she hold a conference on the matter this afternoon," wrote Bower on Tuesday.
Judge Paula Xinis ordered daily updates from the government on what they're doing to "facilitate" the return of Ábrego García.
ALSO READ: When mafia spoof and constitutional crises collide, things stop being funny
Bower wrote on X, "The government refuses to answer an interrogatory that asks it to describe steps taken to facilitate Ábrego García's release. The government objects 'based on the false premise that the United States can or has been ordered to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador…'"
Bower noted that the government's objection "directly contradicts the plain words" of the high court.
The Justice Department objects "based on the false premise that the [U.S.] can or has been ordered to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador."
The full wording of the Supreme Court said: “The order properly requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador."
Bower observed that the DOJ cites the Supreme Court order, "quoting the court as holding that the government should 'take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia.'"
"The problem? SCOTUS never said that!" exclaimed Bower on X. She explained that the quote comes from Judge Xinis’s amended order following the Supreme Court ruling.
