By MIKE CATALINI, Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge overseeing the criminal case against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver told Trump administration attorneys Monday to turn over authorities’ text messages from her chaotic visit to an immigration detention center in New Jersey that led to charges accusing her of assaulting officers.
U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper’s direction came nearly a month after he told authorities they needed to remove social media posts that could prejudice a jury. He also gave the government until next week to turn over additional video from McIver’s May 9 visit to the Delaney Hall facility in Newark.
Attorneys for the New Jersey Democrat told the judge that instead of receiving all the messages from officers involved in the visit, they instead got only those the government turned up after applying unknown search terms.
“I don’t necessarily understand the need for search terms,” Semper said. “Why would you be using search terms as opposed to just turning them over?”
Mark McCarren, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge prosecutors were looking for relevant items.
The judge said he recognized the possibility that there could be security concerns over releasing all messages. He added: “Short of that, they should have them.”
Monday’s hearing came days after Semper declined to throw out the case against McIver, who has pleaded not guilty to assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. The judge is still reviewing a defense request to throw out one of the counts.
McIver’s lawyers had argued the prosecution was selective and vindictive, and that she didn’t assault anyone during her visit. They also said McIver was performing legislative duties protected by the Constitution.
The case is a high-profile clash between President Donald Trump’s second administration and a Democratic lawmaker who has been sharply critical of the president’s policies.
Two of the counts against McIver carry a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison. The third is a misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of one year in prison.
Delaney Hall is a 1,000-bed facility, where raucous protests happened in the spring.
McIver was among several elected officials who attempted to visit the facility. As they tried to gain access, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by federal agents, with charges eventually dropped. McIver was among several people jostling in the crowd around Baraka as it happened.
Prosecutors claim McIver “slammed” her forearm into an agent and placed her arms around the mayor to try to stop his arrest.
It is not clear from police body camera video if the contact with the agent was intentional or the result of jostling in the chaotic scene.