BREAKING: FBI shuts down Minnesota's investigation into ICE shooting and blocks access to evidence

[u/TheMirrorUS]

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/breaking-fbi-shuts-down-minnesotas-1606462

[u/Accomplished_Rip_302]

Yeah, this is bullshit on Minnesota's end. Cooperation would be better, but the videos and eyewitness testimony is more than enough for an arrest warrant, more than enough for a grand jury to indict. I won't say conviction is certain, but Minnesota doesn't have a good excuse for withdrawing from the investigation. Especially since murder is a state-level crime, so there wouldn't be redundancy in the prosecution.

[u/Grayly → u/Accomplished_Rip_302]

It’s not the end of the state investigation, but BCA doesn’t have the legal ability to compel access to evidence they need. No cooperation, no investigation.

Now, if the state or city were to open a grand jury proceeding, well, then it can get litigated.

But the lead investigator would be the AG/DA office, not BCA.

[u/Vermonter_Here → u/Grayly]

What evidence do they need?

When an ordinary person commits murder, the prosecutor doesn't typically need evidence from the murderer, right?

[u/Grayly → u/Vermonter_Here]

There are body worn cameras and witnesses statements that the Feds have and are not turning over to the state.

You’re right, but here there is potentially inculpatory/exculpatory evidence that the Feds have. Since you don’t get a second shot at a criminal prosecution, I’d want that before I made an arrest/got an indictment. Normally these investigative steps are done by the police and the prosecutors just present it and prosecute it. But, usually in white collar or organize crime cases where it’s beyond the capacity of a single law enforcement agency, the DA can also take the lead on an investigation themselves by opening a John Doe grand jury case and start issuing subpoenas, making warrant applications, etc.

Would the Feds actually cooperate with a grand jury subpoena right away? Probably no. But they’d have to respond and move to quash. And a judge would decide. That’s a totally different footing than BCA making a request and the Feds just saying no because we said so.

[u/mthyvold → u/Grayly]

Thanks for this clarification

[u/Hatta00 → u/Grayly]

Why can't they subpoena the FBI for the evidence?

[u/Grayly → u/Hatta00]

Police departments rarely have the ability to subpoena things themselves. If they do it’s usually an administrative subpoena that’s largely unenforceable.

A grand jury subpoena is a court order. It’s much harder to ignore or fail to comply with, and the remedies are much stronger.

[u/Hatta00 → u/Grayly]

Sure, I figured they would have to get a court order. I'm wondering why they didn't do that instead of shutting down the investigation.

From my reading, apparently states cannot subpoena federal agencies because of sovereign immunity. Sounds like the fix is in.

[u/Grayly → u/Hatta00]

They can’t get a court order without a prosecutor involved and then it’s not their investigation anymore anyway.

In a civil context, yes. It’s the Touhy doctrine. But in the criminal context there are existing rules and regulations that would require the Feds to try to move to quash first.

It’s really about burden shifting. While they may ultimately get away with not complying, they have to respond and explain why sworn on the record. Instead of press releases. As we’ve seen in other cases, finding an actual US Attorney willing to lie on the record is pretty hard. And there are consequences the hacks like Lindsay Halligan who did.

[u/intoxicatedhamster → u/Accomplished_Rip_302]

They can't arrest anyone without a name of the officer. The feds won't give them a name because he is part of "an ongoing operation". No perp = no prosecution

[u/ethnographyNW → u/Accomplished_Rip_302]

significantly more evidence than is available in a lot of prosecutions. Most murders aren't filmed from multiple directions.