Mostly Monday Reads: It’s Cold and filled with ICE this Winter

“Déjà vu all over again and again and again…” John Buss, @repeat1968

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

I had a difficult time sleeping last night and had to rely on all the furry creatures in the house to help. The furnace just couldn’t handle it. Very old houses in Tropical Zones are not cut out for weather in the 20-degree Fahrenheit range. It’s noon, 36, and lots of sun. I’m always thankful to my sister and daughters for sending their ski coats and thick sweaters my way when this happens. We missed the snow, unlike last year, but I still had to do the usual New Orleans thing of wrapping the outdoor faucets and leaving a few indoor faucets dripping overnight.  Fortunately, no pipe breakages!

And of course, the cold, dark hand of winter isn’t the only systemic blast over us. The headlines are still about the nightmare in Minnesota, where ICE is pulling out all the stops. Even the Wall Street Journal and the NRA have had it with them. The NRA’s rationale was explored in USA Today. “Gun rights groups slam feds’ comments after Minneapolis shooting. “I don’t know of any peaceful protesters that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.”

Several prominent Second Amendment rights groups have blasted federal officials for suggesting it’s dangerous – and possibly an indication of mal intent – for lawful gun owners to protest while in possession of their legally obtained firearms.

The controversy came after a Border Patrol agent on Jan. 24 shot and killed Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and registered Veterans Affairs nurse, in Minneapolis. Federal officials said Pretti had a gun and intended to “kill law enforcement.” But videos and a witness account in federal court show Pretti holding a phone, not brandishing a firearm.

Hours after the fatal shooting, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California took to X and said, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!” Other members of the Trump administration argued that peaceful protesters don’t show up with guns.

Several prominent gun rights groups took issue with Essayli’s statement, including the National Rifle Association.

“This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong,” the NRA said on X. “Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”

Gun Owners for America said in a statement that its leaders “condemn the untoward comments” by Essayli.

Here’s the Wall Street Journal take. “Videos Contradict U.S. Account of Minneapolis Shooting by Federal Agents. See how immigration officers escalated a fatal confrontation Saturday..” Trump’s regime has morphed beyond the reaches of what used to be Republican Conservatism, and a lot of them now can finally smell the fascism.

Federal agents claimed Alex Pretti, 37, forced their hand, alleging he “violently resisted” disarmament until the officers fired “defensive shots.”

Bystander footage appears to tell a different story. A frame-by-frame review by The Wall Street Journal shows a federal officer pulling a handgun away from Pretti. Less than a second later, an agent fires several rounds. Pretti died at the scene.

“Where is the gun?” agents shouted in the chaotic aftermath.

Pretti, an intensive-care nurse, had been on a Minneapolis street Saturday morning and was filming Border Patrol agents. Videos appear to show what happened next.

Since the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the friction between Minneapolis residents and the federal agents patrolling their streets has intensified.

Massive anti-ICE protests have mobilized thousands, while a more granular resistance has taken hold in the city’s neighborhoods through ICE monitoring groups.

On Nicollet Avenue around 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, locals blew warning whistles and filmed masked federal agents walking through Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood.

Bystander footage shows Pretti standing in the street where he appears to film with his cellphone while other people approach the agents.

Seconds later, Pretti approaches the group, shouting, “Hey!” and continuing to film.

As Pretti and the two other civilians walk away, one of the agents follows them.

That agent then shoved someone who appeared to be with Pretti.

Pretti immediately puts himself between the fallen person and the officer, who appears to spray a nonlethal chemical agent on all three of them.

As a struggle ensues, agents pull Pretti from the others; at least five masked DHS agents surround him and force him to the ground.

Bystander footage shows one agent drawing his firearm and pointing it at Pretti.

Around the same time, a different video verified by the Journal shows Pretti pinned to the ground and agents appear to discover a firearm on him.

In a statement, DHS said, “The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted.”

Less than a second later, one of the agents fires his weapon toward Pretti—the first of at least 10 shots within 5 seconds.

Each of these statements is followed by camera footage of the event. It’s pretty clear that the story told by Noem and other ICE representatives does not reflect the truth of the situation. After the Congress failed to defund ICE, there was widespread uproar from various quarters. AXIOS has the general overview of what’s going on in Congress right now. Will the Senate defund ICE? “DHS and ICE are under siege by Congress like never before.” Andrew Sollender has the lede.

The Department of Homeland Security is coming under unprecedented scrutiny from Congress in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, with Democratic attacks more strident and Republican defenses more muted than ever before.

Why it matters: The growing tension could result in a government shutdown, politically charged hearings and even an impeachment vote.

• More and more Democrats are signing onto Rep. Robin Kelly’s (D-Ill.) articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, with Kelly’s office telling Axios they expect a surge in co-sponsors in the coming day.
• Senate Democrats are threatening to allow a partial government shutdown next week unless a DHS funding bill is altered with language reining in the agency.
• And Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked the heads of ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to testify to his panel.

Driving the news: While many Republican leaders and loyal Trump allies leapt to DHS’ defense in the wake of the shooting, a noticeably large group of GOP lawmakers offered more equivocal statements than in the aftermath of the Renee Good shooting weeks earlier.

• Many centered their responses on calling for a full investigation, including Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), Max Miller (R-Ohio) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
• The office of Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), a staunch conservative and Trump ally, said in a statement: “Leaders at every level must lower the temperature, enforce the law, and protect public safety. In the days ahead, we will work to ensure a full and transparent review of events.”
• “Law enforcement should conduct an objective investigation and get the facts. We defend people’s free speech and right to protest,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) in a statement to Axios, though he added that it is “not right to interfere or obstruct law enforcement in their official actions.”

Zoom in: The responses of Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) to two different shootings in her home state offer a revealing picture of how the GOP’s tone has shifted since the start of the year.

• After Renee Good was killed on Jan. 7, Fischbach called the incident a “targeted assault on ICE agents” in a post on X, writing, “I stand with the officer who acted in self-defense to save lives.”
• On Sunday, she wrote after Pretti was killed: “I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in Minneapolis and fully support the ongoing investigation into this incident.”

NBC has this report on the Democrats who seemed in disarray about the situation last week. “Senate Democrats plot strategy as DHS standoff deepens heading into shutdown week. Two sources who were on a Democratic caucus strategy call Sunday said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the group the message must be to “restrain, reform and restrict ICE.” This is reported by Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V.

Senate Democrats held a conference call Sunday to discuss their strategy after they made it clear they will block a Department of Homeland Security funding bill if it does not include changes to impose conditions on immigration enforcement operations.

The Senate is heading into a critical week with a Friday deadline to fund the government or face a partial shutdown.

The package doesn’t have the 60 votes it needs. Without them, much of the federal government could shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Two sources on the call told NBC News that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told the caucus the message had to be to “restrain, reform and restrict ICE.”

According to one of the sources, Schumer told them that the vote won’t come until Thursday and that he discussed the Democratic caucus’ unity in opposition to funding DHS without reforms. He said the five other funding bills apart from the DHS measure are acceptable.

“Basically DHS is the problem and needs to be stripped out,” the source summed up Schumer as saying.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pushed the caucus to come up with a demand for DHS reforms, two sources with knowledge of his comments said.

Republicans could limit the scope of a shutdown by voting on the non-DHS measures separately and passing them.

Ongoing concern about the health of the rotter in the White House continues to be a topic of discussion. This is from The Hill. “Trump on closing his eyes during Cabinet meetings: ‘Boring as hell’.” This is reported by Ashleigh Fields.

President Trump said he’s closed his eyes during Cabinet meetings because they are “boring as hell” but noted this isn’t a reflection of his health.

“It’s boring as hell; I’m going around a room, and I’ve got 28 guys — the last one was three and a half hours. I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening,” Trump told New York magazine.

“I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out,” he added.

In recent months, speculation about the president’s ability to deal with chronic venous insufficiency and lead the country by past staffers, political strategists and the public has mounted.

Several people described the president as “incoherent” while giving remarks at Quantico, Va., last October; conservative commentator Megyn Kelly even said he was “rambling” on the campaign trail and displayed “senior moments.”

But those in Trump’s orbit defended Trump’s behavior and noted his innate ability to notice details both small and large in a split second.

“The guy is too healthy. He’s too active,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told New York magazine, detailing one time when Trump surprised him with a set of medallion samples after noticing some were missing from chandeliers inside the State Department.

Rubio said when the White House leader closes his eyes, it’s a “listening mechanism” that tunes speakers in rather than drowning them out.

Amid support from one of his top Cabinet officials, the president says he regrets taking an MRI scan and heeding the advice of his medical professionals at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center this fall, as it caused more questions about the state of his health.

At least one of Trump’s unqualified buffoons is out of office. NBC News reports that “Lindsey Halligan is no longer employed by the Justice Department after departure from Virginia U.S. attorney’s office. Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience, stepped down from her post in the Eastern District of Virginia after a judge found she was “masquerading” as U.S. attorney.” How many hundreds or thousands of them are left?

Donald Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance attorney who brought two unsuccessful cases against two of the president’s perceived enemies, is no longer a Justice Department employee, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Halligan, who lacked any prior prosecutorial experience, stepped down last week from her proclaimed role as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, a position a judge found she unlawfully held. It was not entirely clear last week whether Halligan would assume a new role at the Justice Department, as Alina Habba did after after federal appeals court judges upheld her disqualification as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey in December.

But two sources familiar with the matter said Halligan is no longer a Justice Department employee. It is unclear whether she has a new job outside of the Justice Department.

A federal judge ruled last week that Halligan had to stop “masquerading” as the Eastern District’s top federal prosecutor.

It’s easy to portray these folks as a run away circus show, but the problem is that every decision they make impacts the lives of millions of Americans and folks around the world. They all need to be sent to one jolly prison to rot.

What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging lists today?