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The Trump administration has placed a Justice Department (DOJ) lawyer on leave for not “zealously advocating” its position in the case involving a Salvadoran man living in Maryland who was mistakenly deported last month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office placed Erez Reuveni, who argued for the government, in Friday’s hearing in which a judge ruled Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be returned to the U.S. by Monday, on indefinite paid leave, Fox News has learned.
“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” Bondi told the New York Times in a statement. “Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
JOHN YOO URGES TRUMP ADMIN TO ‘WORK OUT A DEAL’ TO RETURN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED INDIVIDUALS
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)
Reuveni on Friday admitted that Garcia’s deportation was a mistake, according to the New York Times.
On Saturday, the Trump administration argued in an emergency appeal that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis can’t force the administration to return Garcia to the U.S.
Xinis on Friday ruled that the government must make arrangements to have Garcia back in the U.S. before Monday at midnight.
The Saturday emergency appeal seeks to temporarily stay Xinis’ decision until the government has time to properly appeal the ruling.
“Late Friday afternoon, a federal district judge ordered the United States to force El Salvador to send one of its citizens – a member of MS-13, no less – back to the United States by midnight on Monday. If there was ever a case for an emergency stay pending…
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