The Video That Blew Up ICE’s Story (w/ Andrew Weissmann) | The Illegal News
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Fulton County filed a motion challenging the FBI's 2020 ballot seizure, echoing prior criticisms of the affidavit's deficiencies and lack of probable cause.
- ❖ICE's 'surge operation' in Minneapolis is ending, but hosts argue that without policy changes and accountability for past abuses, similar issues will recur.
- ❖Charges against Julio Cesar Sosa Celis, who was shot by ICE agents, were dismissed after video evidence contradicted agent claims of an attack, leading to agent suspensions.
- ❖A grand jury declined to indict members of Congress for a video advising against illegal orders, and a federal court issued an injunction protecting Senator Kelly from retaliation for the same.
- ❖The IRS admitted to unlawfully sharing identifying information from 47,000 tax records with the Department of Homeland Security.
- ❖The Department of Justice under Trump repeatedly attempted to dismiss Steve Bannon's criminal contempt indictment, even after his conviction and prison sentence.
- ❖Federal judges are increasingly appointing US attorneys when presidential nominees are deemed unqualified or unconfirmed, leading to political interference in these appointments.
Insights
1Fulton County Challenges FBI Ballot Seizure
Fulton County filed a motion attacking the FBI's affidavit used to seize 2020 election ballots. The county's arguments align with Andrew Weissmann's prior analysis, citing a lack of probable cause for intentional wrongdoing, failure to disclose discrediting information about sources, and interference with state sovereignty. The host raises concerns about the ballots' integrity while in federal custody.
Fulton County's motion filed on February 17th, 2026, attacking the FBI affidavit for the 2020 ballot seizure.
2ICE Agents Exposed Lying in Shooting Incident
Charges against Julio Cesar Sosa Celis, who was shot in the leg by ICE agents, were dismissed after video evidence contradicted the agents' claims that Celis attacked them with shovels and brooms. This incident, initially framed by Christy Gnome as 'attempted murder,' led to the agents' suspension and investigation, highlighting a pattern of government officials making false accusations.
Video evidence contradicting ICE agent claims regarding the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa Celis, leading to dismissal of charges and agent suspensions.
3IRS Unlawfully Shared 47,000 Tax Records with DHS
The IRS admitted in federal court to unlawfully sharing identifying information from 47,000 individuals' tax records with the Department of Homeland Security. This occurred despite a court ruling that an agreement between Treasury and DHS to share data on undocumented taxpayers was invalid, underscoring a disregard for taxpayer confidentiality and privacy laws.
IRS affidavit filed in federal court admitting to unlawfully sharing 47,000 tax records with DHS.
4Grand Jury Rejects Indictment of Congress Members for Free Speech
A grand jury declined to indict Senators Mark Kelly and Alyssa Slotkin, along with other members of Congress, for a video advising against following illegal orders. The hosts emphasize that this activity is protected by the First Amendment and that the Justice Department's attempt to indict political adversaries for such speech is 'insane' and indicative of authoritarian tactics.
Grand jury declining to indict Senators Mark Kelly and Alyssa Slotkin and other members of Congress for a video on illegal orders.
5Federal Court Protects Senator Kelly from Retaliation
A federal court issued a preliminary injunction in Senator Kelly's case against Pete Hegseth, preventing efforts to demote Kelly or decrease his pension in connection with the aforementioned video. This ruling highlights judicial intervention against retaliatory actions targeting political adversaries for exercising First Amendment rights, framing it as a sign of 'full authoritarian mode'.
Federal court issuing a preliminary injunction in Senator Kelly's case against Pete Hegseth.
6DOJ Attempts to Dismiss Bannon's Contempt Conviction
US Attorney Janine Piro filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Steve Bannon for criminal contempt, despite his prior conviction and served prison sentence for refusing to testify about January 6th. This move is seen as undermining Congress's enforcement power, the criminal justice system, and signaling that laws do not apply to political allies.
US Attorney Janine Piro's motion to dismiss the indictment against Steve Bannon for criminal contempt.
7Unlawful Appointment and Firing of US Attorneys
Federal district judges in the North District of New York appointed a former prosecutor as US attorney after Trump's appointee was ruled unlawfully serving. Todd Blanch then attempted to fire this newly appointed attorney via Twitter. This situation reflects a pattern of the administration appointing unqualified individuals and then attempting to override the legal process when courts intervene, demonstrating disrespect for the judicial system.
Federal district judges appointing Don Canella as US attorney and Todd Blanch's attempt to fire him via Twitter.
8Judge Rules Against Deportation of Turkish Student
A federal judge ruled that the government had no legal basis to deport Ramisa Ozurk, a Turkish graduate student arrested for writing a pro-Palestine editorial. Her arrest by masked federal agents and subsequent detention, during which the government made it difficult for her lawyers to locate her, is presented as a severe violation of civil rights and freedom of speech.
Federal judge's ruling that the government had no legal basis to deport Ramisa Ozurk.
Bottom Line
The weaponization of government data (election records, tax information, facial recognition) by a politically motivated administration creates an 'unnatural advantage' in electoral competition and could lead to widespread privacy violations.
This suggests a systematic effort to centralize control over sensitive citizen data, not for legitimate governance, but for partisan benefit, potentially enabling microtargeting, suppression, or even the manufacturing of 'fraud' narratives.
Developing robust, decentralized data protection mechanisms and advocating for legislative changes that create severe disincentives (e.g., significant damages for privacy violations) for government misuse of information could safeguard democratic processes and individual liberties.
The current administration's willingness to lie, disregard legal norms, and retaliate against critics is not an aberration but a deliberate strategy that exploits the legal system's 'sloth' and the public's cynicism.
This erodes the foundational trust in public institutions and fosters a 'they all do it' mentality, making it harder to hold officials accountable and allowing egregious actions to be normalized or dismissed through partisan blinders.
Independent media and legal watchdogs must continue to expose these actions with irrefutable evidence (like video), and the judiciary must consistently push back against executive overreach, as seen in the Celis and Kelly cases, to re-establish guardrails and demonstrate that accountability is possible.
Key Concepts
Fox Guarding the Hen House
This refers to a situation where an entity responsible for protecting something is also in a position to exploit or harm it. It is used to describe the concern that if the federal government, particularly under a politically motivated administration, controls election data or legal processes, it might manipulate them for political advantage rather than safeguarding their integrity.
Panopticon
Originally a concept of a prison design allowing a single watchman to observe all inmates without them knowing if they are being watched, it is used here to describe the extensive and potentially invasive data collection by the government (e.g., ICE facial images, IRS tax records) that creates a pervasive sense of surveillance and control over citizens' lives.
Lessons
- Demand accountability for government officials and agencies that lie or abuse power, particularly when video evidence or judicial rulings expose misconduct.
- Support legislative efforts to strengthen protections against government data sharing and ensure meaningful damages can be sought for civil rights violations by federal agents.
- Stay informed about legal challenges to government actions, especially those concerning election integrity, privacy, and First Amendment rights, as these cases reveal systemic vulnerabilities.
Notable Moments
Discussion of the Fulton County motion against the FBI's ballot seizure, highlighting the lack of probable cause and the potential for political manipulation of election data.
This case exemplifies the weaponization of federal power to interfere with state election processes and raises critical questions about the security and integrity of election materials when under federal control.
The hosts' emotional reaction to the stories of ICE agents preventing medical aid to Alex Prey and Renee Good after they were shot, and the subsequent discussion on the deterioration of 'human guard rails' in government conduct.
This moment underscores the profound ethical and moral crisis within certain government agencies, where basic human decency and professional obligations are allegedly disregarded, leading to a loss of public trust and a sense of societal breakdown.
The revelation that the IRS unlawfully shared 47,000 tax records with DHS, despite a court ruling against such agreements.
This highlights a severe breach of taxpayer privacy and demonstrates a systemic disregard for legal restrictions on data sharing, raising concerns about the government's intent to use sensitive personal information for purposes beyond its mandate.
Quotes
"If this were intentional, it would be a crime. They don't actually lay out the probable cause. That's the factual predication for something being intentional as opposed to a mistake."
"The problem was these lawyers when they went in there, they are supposed to put both sides of the information in. Like the court relies on sort of the good faith of the lawyers to say, 'Hey, here's reasons why we think there's probable cause, but also here's some things that the court should know about whether or not you should take these people seriously.'"
"The government thinks, you know, it's like possession's nine-tenths of the law... Any day that we are holding these is a good day. And any day that we have returned them is a bad day. And so we're going to play this out and string it along."
"It's everything's the quiet part out loud. At this point, it's like the loud part with a megaphone. It's like it's just um you know, it's not like they govern for all the people. It's like we govern for the red states, we govern for people who voted for us, and we punish the people who who didn't."
"What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement. Our officer was ambushed and attacked by three individuals who beat him with snow shovels and the handles of brooms. Fearing for his life, the officer filed a defensive shot."
"You're so naive. You're so naive. By the way, can I just tell you I'll tell you a quick story. The very first time I was on um what was then MSNBC and Claire McKascal was sitting next to me and um and we each said our piece and mine was about like lying to Congress and what it's like and then of course this you couldn't do this and this is what we expect from our public servants blah blah blah and then we go to commercial break and um Claire who I adore turns to me and she goes you're so naive. Yeah, you sweet, you sweet, sweet summer child."
"I hate being told that I'm naive if I assume that people of public trust are always lying, are always doing the wrong thing because I just like that level of cynicism and nihilism. Like you can't, it's no way to run a country."
"This is one of many, many decisions by judges of violations of the First Amendment... I mean if you for anyone who is listening to this who does not think we are in full authoritarian mode just look at the two things that we just talked about trying to indict people for protected first amendment activity who are political adversaries indicting political adversaries. Um welcome to Russia and Ukraine and Hungary um and Argentina um and you know you could go on and on um and then retaliating against the first amendment uh rights of the senator as well. I mean this is like full authoritarianism."
"The whole point we bring people over here from other countries to be like please come experience all of the rights that we enjoy as Americans and then she's got masked plain closed police officers grabbing her off the streets because in a student newspaper god do you know how many stupid things kids write in stupid newspaper and you know what And maybe and I'm not even it's not even a value judgment on it. The point is is like that's what we that's why we invite exchange students to come here and appreciate these rights and encourage them to air uh all sorts of opinions. You don't get grabbed off the street for it."
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