The Trump Team is Now Trying to Jail Members of Congress

Summary

Bulwark Takes: The Trump Team is Now Trying to Jail Members of Congress

Release Date: May 20, 2025
Host: Sam Stein
Guest: Adrian Carrasquillo, author of Huddled Masses

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Introduction

In the latest episode of Bulwark Takes, Sam Stein and Adrian Carrasquillo delve into a significant development in American politics: the decision by Alina Haba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to press charges against Representative Lamonica McIver. This marks a rare instance where a member of Congress faces criminal charges, raising profound questions about the interplay between legislative oversight and executive action.

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Background of the Delaney Hall Incident

The episode begins with Sam Stein introducing the breaking news: Representative Lamonica McIver, a sitting member of Congress, is set to be charged following an altercation at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

At [00:00], Sam Stein outlines the incident:

"About an hour ago, news broke that Alina Haba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, was going to press forward with charges against a sitting member of Congress, Representative Lamonica McIver..."

Adrian Carrasquillo provides further context at [01:35]:

"...three House Democrats went to Delaney Hall to provide oversight at ICE facilities. They aimed to conduct a tour, signaling Democrats' intent to actively oppose conditions at detention centers."

The trio included Representative McIver and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Their unannounced visit was intended as a demonstration against ICE practices, embodying the Democratic push for more aggressive oversight.

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Legal Charges and Assertions

Following the incident, Alina Haba decided to file charges exclusively against Rep. McIver. The charges, cited under Title 18, United States Code, Section 11, allege that McIver assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement officers.

At [03:57], Sam Stein highlights a critical development:

"The Haba's office is presenting private camera footage that allegedly shows Congresswoman McIver initiating an assault on a police officer, countering the public footage that depicts a heated exchange."

Rep. McIver responded with a strong statement at [04:13]:

"The charges against me are pure political. They mischaracterize and distort my actions and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight. The administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right."

This assertion underscores McIver's stance that the legal actions are politically motivated attempts to suppress legislative scrutiny.

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Democratic Response and Internal Dynamics

The charges against McIver have sparked a significant reaction within the Democratic Party. Prior to the announcement, Democrats had been increasingly vocal against ICE detention practices, planning actions and visits to detention centers to highlight abuses.

Adrian Carrasquillo observes at [05:00]:

"House Democrats initially saw the visit to Delaney Hall as good politics, a chance to fight back against ICE. However, the administration's swift and aggressive retribution, amplified by Trump-aligned media like Fox News, has created a chilling effect."

A Congressional Hispanic Caucus lawmaker shared with Carrasquillo:

"We should do a day of action at detention centers," but hesitated due to the potential repercussions following the attack on Rep. McIver.

Sam Stein notes the severity of this response at [06:50]:

"Eric Swalwell is out tonight saying that the administration has crossed a red line by leveling charges against a sitting member of Congress. This feels like an unprecedented attack on one branch of government by another."

Adrian adds at [07:42]:

"These red lines are adding up—today it's a congresswoman, previously it was a judge. These actions are interconnected and signal a broader strategy to intimidate."

The internal tension is palpable, with Democratic leaders like Minority Leader Jeffries expressing discomfort with such aggressive forms of protest, reflecting uncertainty about the political viability of continued confrontations.

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Implications for Government Oversight and Protests

The administration's decision to charge a member of Congress has broader implications for governmental oversight and the right to protest. By targeting lawmakers engaged in oversight activities, the administration may be aiming to deter similar actions in the future.

At [08:24], Sam Stein posits:

"If Democrats can't effectively respond to one of their own being arrested, how can they expect individuals to rally for broader causes like migrant rights or protesting detentions?"

Adrian Carrasquillo concurs at [08:55]:

"The administration's strong reaction is chilling Democrats, making them less likely to engage in public protests or legislative oversight due to fear of legal repercussions."

This dynamic suggests a potential stifling of legislative activism and public dissent, as the administration seeks to limit challenges to its policies and practices.

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Conclusion: Escalating Tensions Between Government Branches

The episode concludes with a reflection on the severe implications of the charges against Rep. McIver. The move by the acting U.S. attorney appears to escalate tensions between the legislative and executive branches, raising alarms about the erosion of checks and balances fundamental to American democracy.

Sam Stein emphasizes the gravity of the situation:

"We are increasingly getting to a very bad place where the two branches of government are pitted against each other."

Adrian Carrasquillo adds a note of caution at [09:42]:

"This is something I'm keeping an eye on because it signifies a troubling trend in how governmental branches interact and enforce accountability."

The episode underscores the critical need to monitor the unfolding situation, as it holds significant ramifications for the balance of power within the U.S. government and the future of legislative oversight.

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Stay tuned to Bulwark Takes for ongoing coverage and analysis of this developing story. Subscribe to the feed and share with family and friends to stay informed on crucial political developments.

Transcript

[Sam Stein]

Hey, guys, it's me, Sam Stein, managing editor of the Bulwark. I am joined by Adrian Carrasquillo. He's the author of Huddled Masses. It's a great newsletter. You should be subscribing to that. We are here tonight to talk about some breaking news. About an hour ago, news broke that Alina haba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, was going to press forward with charges against a sitting member of Congress, Representative Lamonica McIver, who was part of a trio of members of Congress, along with the New York mayor, who went to a Newark detention facility, ICE detention facility called Delaney Hall. Basically, this is a big deal. We're going to get into all that. Adrian's going to help unpack what's going on here before we do, as always, do subscribe to the feed. I really appreciate it. We really appreciate it. It's helpful for us. All right, Adrian. So basically, the backstory is, a couple weeks ago, they go to this ICE detention facility. A scuffle ensues outside of the facility. And then there were some questions about whether charges were going to be brought against the mayor, who's under different jurisdiction and law than the sitting members of Congress. It turns out that. How about announces tonight that she's going to not charge the Newark mayor, but she is pressing forward with charges against the congresswoman, she says, in Violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 11, for assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement. Before we get into, like, the legality of this and the politics of this, for people who maybe didn't notice what happened or just don't have a really strong understanding of what happened, just unpack what happened. And the scene that erupted outside Delaney Hall.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Yeah. You had three House Democrats going along with the Newark mayor, Ras Baraka, who's running for governor, and they showed up to what they say and which is true, they are able to provide oversight at ICE facilities. They said they wanted to get a tour. Of course, like you said, we're going to get into the politics. There's been so much talk. When are Democrats going to step up? When are they going to fight back? So this was the Democrats showing up here and saying, we don't want this.

[Sam Stein]

Had they announced, had they showed up.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

I think they showed up unannounced. But, you know, there was all this talk at that time of the Democrats.

[Sam Stein]

So they go there, they get in, but then they go outside and a scuffle ensues.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

I think one of the issues. And when you watch the video, I know we'll show parts of it is, um. There's like, a public part, and then there's, you know, the agents trying to sort of, like, funnel the lawmakers, and then there's. There's the private part. So I think that's some of the discrepancy of, you know, and then you can even see in the video where people talk about the lawmakers are saying that they were the ones that were physically, you know, that the IC agents were the ones that escalated the situation.

[Sam Stein]

Well, let's show.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Let's. That is crazy as well.

[Sam Stein]

We can see this is what took place outside of the detention facility gets pretty heated. You can see tempers flaring over. People are screaming at the ICE agents who had showed up with video cameras. Take a look. All right. See that? You got some of the flavor of it now. I think, to your point, they are the. The haba's office, and is. Is saying, look, there's private cameras. Footage. Private camera footage that shows that the congresswoman was the one who initiated a assault of the police officer and that the public footage that you saw from outside and is not telling the entirety of the story. The congresswoman says it's plainly not true. And then they are, to your point, Adrian, legally entitled to just show up. It's in congressional. It's. It's in their power to just show up and provide oversight of these facilities.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Yeah. And I mean, again, we have video of the incident. You can see Congresswoman MacGyver saying, you can't touch me. Don't touch me. And you see Menendez saying something similarly. So that's pretty. It's just pretty insane. And there was. Afterwards, the congresswoman had said she had assaulted.

[Sam Stein]

Let's read a little bit from her statement. She says this is the statement she issued tonight. The charges against me are pure political. They mischaracterize and distort my actions and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight. The administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. Let's just step back a little bit. You talked a little bit about this idea that they wanted. Democrats wanted to ramp up their opposition to what was happening in ICE detention facilities. How are you. What are you getting from your reporting? Before the charges were announced, you know, they haven't quite hit the dock yet, but before the charges were announced tonight. And maybe a little bit from your. What you're seeing after there. And they've been announced. Yeah. Is there. Is there a change in an approach that you can talk about? How are Democrats internalizing all this?

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

I think, I think what's crazy in light of these charges that came is I had spoken to House Democrats for my newsletter last week where they said that, you know, this seemed like good politics at the time and Democrats again getting that push to fight back. And what they got instead was just like a white hot response from the administration in terms of retribution, in terms of like Trump aligned media, like Fox News just jumping on this narrative that it was the Democrats that we're attacking. And so what I found interesting is, I see is a Congressional Hispanic Caucus lawmaker told me, quote, that they want to lean in and say we should do a day of action at detention centers. But they told me they don't think that's a good idea because of this response that they got from the administration. And I mean, when you see, when you see the Democrats today, tonight saying that this is an effort to intimidate, it gets you thinking about intimidate what? And I think it's to intimidate that position that actually. Yeah, that, that. But also that the Trump administration does not want to see. I think it's effective when Democrats show up, but it sounds detention centers and.

[Sam Stein]

Say, hey, is that in fact what the administration has done here, which is thrown the book at these people and codes with conservative media, that it is actually having its intended outcome, which is to persuade them to not do some, some similar types of protests?

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Yeah, I think that's right. And I think that that's what's fascinating. As we see, there's been so many issues around due process, around US Citizens being taken. We saw some Democrats go to Mexico because one of the children had cancer that was taken. And so this seems like fertile ground for Democrats to fight back on. And then you see how strongly the Trump administration is going against them, which, yes, is sort of scaring them into saying, oh, well, maybe if we're going to face legal ramifications and this strong attack, then it's going to sort of curtail.

[Sam Stein]

I mean, some lawmakers mean, Eric Swalwell is out tonight saying that the administration has crossed a red line by leveling charges against a sitting member of Congress. And certainly this feels, I mean, it's new, right? Like, this is not something we've seen as far as I'm concerned before. It's a, it's an attack on one branch against another. You know, the administration might rationalize and say, look, she broke a law. We have to, we have to enforce it. But it certainly is an escalation. So swallows is A red line cross the the the House Democratic leadership is out with a statement obviously standing in support of Representative McIver. But I mean, you've had prior reporting on Minority Leader Jeffries having some discomfort with these except, you know, these sort of more aggressive forms of protest. Do you think some of this is just leadership saying we don't, we're still not sure the politics work for us?

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

No. That's a good way of putting it. I think it's like sort of like wading through, trying to understand. I mean, you know, you can start saying, well, El Salvador and maybe Kilmar, maybe that's not the right case. Maybe we focus on children, maybe we focus on US Citizens. We've the problem, I think, is these red lines add up. You have the judge. Well, they arrested a judge who was then released in Wisconsin and Milwaukee. You have lawmakers now. And let's remember that these things are connected when you are the lawmakers weren't just there alone. They were also activists. A huge thing that has been chilled in the Trump administration is protest and is saying this is not okay. So when so, you know, Democrats right now want to make this to say this is not just about immigration, this is about due process.

[Sam Stein]

I find this fascinating because what they do next really does set the standard for we what they're going to ask people to do if they can't muster up an appropriate response to one of their own lawmakers being arrested, how can they expect people to go out in the street and protest? How can they expect people to rally behind migrants or people who are wrongfully detained if they're not willing to stand.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Up for their own, if they're being, if they're being chilled right now by the administration response, they have to respond in kind and strongly to show this is not okay.

[Sam Stein]

Past this news. But are you getting a sense from any of your sources about what kind of response we could potentially see to this?

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

I have not heard that much tonight. I expect more tomorrow. I think it's just like you said, it's going to be really instructive to see what happens next is does this disappear for a while like we had heard there'd be more El Salvador trips.

[Sam Stein]

There haven't been.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

And do they. There hasn't been anything. There hasn't been anything since. And that's something I'm following. But, you know, so that's really interesting just to see, you know, what Democrats.

[Sam Stein]

Continued people threw at you for your story. You should point out we haven't had a trip since. So maybe, maybe you had them dead to rights.

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

Yeah.

[Sam Stein]

You don't want to engage on that one, perhaps?

[Adrian Carrasquillo]

No, no, no. It's something I'm keeping. It's something I'm keeping an eye on because I have not. Right, May.

[Sam Stein]

So that you don't give away the game. All right. Well, keep an eye. Let's keep an eye on that. Let's keep an eye on the response that Democrats give to this remarkable development tonight, where again, Alina Haba, the acting attorney general for New Jersey, has said she will charge Congresswoman McIver for disrupting and impeding and interfering with law enforcement at an ICE detention facility in New Jersey. We are increasingly getting to a very bad place where the two branches of government are. Well, I. They're pitted against each other, more or less. Adrian, thanks so much for keeping on top of this stuff to the viewers. Thank you so much for tuning in to watch us talk about this stuff. We really appreciate it. Subscribe to the feed Share this with family and friends. Always helps to have that. And we'll talk to you later.