A former federal prosecutor believes the White House’s social media activity could become an issue in court as it tries to avoid returning to the U.S. a man it mistakenly deported.
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and current MSNBC contributor, pointed to the White House’s “cute” edit of a New York Times headline about the ongoing scandal.
The original headline, which referenced Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s Thursday meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, read, “Senator Meets With Wrongly Deported Maryland Man in El Salvador.” The White House, however, made edits in red so that it read, “Senator Meets with Deported MS-13 Illegal Alien in El Salvador Who’s Never Coming Back.”
The only evidence the administration has pointed to claiming that the Maryland dad was affiliated with the gang is tenuous.
Additionally, the administration admitted in court that Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error.”
As for the post as a whole, Vance said it could be cited as representative of the White House’s motivations.
“I suspect this is going to show up in a variety of court pleadings,” Vance wrote on X. “Whoever thought this was cute at the time may be less giddy when this becomes evidence of intent to disobey a court order.”
Several judges are considering contempt charges against the Trump administration, which has tried to squirm its way around the Supreme Court’s order to “facilitate” Garcia’s return.
