F (7:20)

Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country. We're grateful to President Bukele for agreeing to return him to our country to face these very serious charges. This is what American justice looks like. Upon completion of his sentence, we anticipate he will be returned to his home country of El Salvador. The grand jury found that over the past nine years Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips. The grand jury found smuggling people throughout our country. Mississippi. 13 members, violent gang, terrorist organization members throughout our country, thousands of illegal aliens were smuggled. This is especially disturbing because Abrego Garcia is also alleged with transporting minor children. The defendant traded the innocence of minor children for profit. There are even more disturbing facts that the grand jury uncovered. It is alleged this defendant is part of the same smuggling ring responsible for the death of more than 50 migrants in 2021 after the tractor trailer overturned in Mexico. This is part of that same ring. The defendant abused undocumented alien females according to co conspirators who were under his control while transporting them throughout our country. This defendant trafficked firearms and narcotics throughout our country on multiple occasions. They were using vehicles, SUVs with added seats in the back floors that had been ripped out. Guns, narcotics, children, women, Ms. 13 members. That is what the grand jury found. A co conspirator alleged that the defendant solicited nude photographs and videos of a minor. A co conspirator also alleges the defendant played a role in the murder of a rival gang member's mother. These facts demonstrate Abrego Garcia is a danger to our community.

E (10:12)

Okay. She's the head of the Department of Justice and the judge is very concerned, for instance, that she is commenting erroneously and in an inflammatory way about evidence in the case, about the. About the defendant in the case and violating all the rules about fair trial.

D (10:31)

Do you hate heavy caked on makeup? The way it feels and the way it looks? I know I do. That's why I'm so excited about this new sponsor, Jones Road. Jones Road has this amazing new product that is healthy for your skin, it doesn't clog your pores, is easy to use and it comes in this nice little pack that's easy to take with you when you travel. So it gives you a natural look, it doesn't give you that caked on look and it doesn't feel bad on your skin. You can use it as a, as a lip tint, as a blush, as a bronzer, a highlighter. I of course use all of the above and it's just fits into my lifestyle and gives me the look, that natural look that I like to have. All of Jones Road formulas are clean and high performing without any of the bad ingredients that you don't want in your makeup. And clean beauty is obviously a no brainer. And they don't just have their famous miracle balm. They've built a full line of effortless skin first staples like their Just Enough tinted moisturizer, a lightweight non comedogenic formula that smooths and even skins tone with A soft touch and coverage. It hides redness. It looks natural and feels like nothing on your skin. So it's packed with skin friendly ingredients to keep skin moisturized without clogging your pores. That's one of my favorite parts as well. So it looks great, it feels great and your pores don't get clogged. What more could you ask for? This is a modern day makeup that's clean, strategic and multifunctional for effortless routines. And so for a limited time offer, our listeners are getting a free cool glass on their first purchase when they use Code Legal AF at checkout. That's a free cool gloss. So head to Jonesroadbeauty.com and use code Legal at checkout. And after you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them and please support our show. Thank you. Jones Road.

E (12:20)

She's not the only one. We then had Tom Holman, the border czar, who's who was caught in a bribery sting himself before just recently and took a $50,000 bribe. But he's out talking about somebody else's criminality and ethics. Here's a clip from Tom Homan that the judge doesn't like.

D (12:38)

We removed an MS.13 gang member, public.

E (12:44)

Safety threat, wife beater, designated terrorist from the United States. He's, I mean, again, you can tell they're all reading from the same script, right? Same palm card, wife beater, child molester, child trafficker. I mean, it's all, first of all, it's all wrong. There have been judges that have looked at the file and have looked at the record, including Judge Holmes, who's the magistrate judge in Tennessee. And she found none of this to be credible, none of this to be true. Let's just start with the charges. He's not been charged with human trafficking. He's been charged with human smuggling. And there is a difference, right? Trafficking suggests that the person is being captured, kidnapped and trafficked against their will. Smuggling is can you get me across the border? You know, and that's a different. And even the law recognized that as being different. Let's watch Kristi Noem in action. Also troubling to the, to the judge. Let's play that clip.

C (13:43)

And last but not least, that I'll highlight here individually today is we all remember the story of Kilmar abrego Garcia, the Ms. 13 member. He was a human trafficker, a domestic abuser, a criminal illegal alien and a national of El Salvador and a member of Ms. 13. The mainstream media consistently tries to defend this individual as an innocent Maryland man. But I will be very clear. This man has a history and decades long ties to a gang that has been convicted of human trafficking. And he himself has been deeply tied to those horrific charges and criminal activities. He's here in Nashville currently on federal charges for human trafficking. And the grand jury's indictment describes a monster. Abrego was a full time human trafficker who had brutally abused women under his control and even solicited individuals for child pornography.

E (14:38)

And then he's very concerned. Also on page three of his order about press releases, they said. On April 16, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security issued a press release. The real story. Kilmer Abrego Garcia is an Ms. 13 gang member with a history of violence. In that release, Homeland Security cited the following fast facts. When Garcia was arrested, he was found with rolls of cash and drugs improperly commenting about evidence. He was arrested with two other members of MS.13. That's not true. When arrested he was wearing a sweatshirt with rolls of money covering the ears, mouth and eyes of presidents on various currency denominations and MS.13 gang symbol. Two judges found that he was a member of MS.13. That finding has not been disturbed. That's false. Intelligence reports found that he was involved in human trafficking. False. They found that he was involved with human smuggling. And now the judge says on page seven about all these statements. As discussed above, government employees have made extra judicial statements meaning outside the courtroom that are troubling, especially when many of them are exaggerated, if not simply inaccurate. These statements made allegations regarding Abrego's character or reputation and expressed government officials views on Abrego's guilt or innocence, which are all improper. About Ms. 13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser and child predator. And, and it goes on. And he is locking down those kind of future statements. Separately, he's required that the government provide in camera meaning for the court's review everything that was written by prosecutors who are no longer there and why they're no longer there. Okay, did they get fired because they wouldn't bring a false charge against Abrego Garcia? That's what the judge is trying to get to the bottom of. Let me flip over to Judge Zinnis for a minute. In Judge Zinnis, there was a notice late on Friday from the government just said notice, which is what the. Which is what Zinnis required. She has right now Brago Garcia under lock and key in Virginia and she's keeping an eye on him. They gave notice that by October 31st they plan on deporting him, removing him To Liberia. Okay. Judge called a conference. She wants to brief. She doesn't want him going anywhere. She wants it briefed. And she certainly doesn't want him going anywhere before the November 4th and 5th hearing in front of Judge Crenshaw about whether the indictment is phony and should be dismissed for vindictive prosecution. Then there's the curious case of another Department of Justice lawyer who. Who has disappeared, Bridget Ohicke. Now, this is a case where one of the major lawyers on the case, originally Erez Ruveni, got fired by the Department of Justice because he told the truth to this Judge Zinnis that the removal of Abrego Garcia was illegal. And then he got promptly fired. Bridget O. Hickey did terribly in court in front of Judge Zinnis just about two months ago where she couldn't. About a month ago where she couldn't answer any questions being asked by the judge, the judge got frustrated. She had to keep going back and forth. I mean, it's no wonder, because Bridget o' Hickey just came out of the Florida Attorney General's office. She'd never been in the Department of Justice. She'd never been on this case before. This is who they put this crash test dummy. Sorry. They put her in. Feed her to the wolves so she doesn't know anything. You know, listen, I've been practicing for a long time. I can't tell you how many times judges have made it clear in their own unique way that they do not like lawyers appearing in front of them who don't know the file and aren't the senior lawyers on the case. And that's all. The Department of Justice is trotting out low level people with no experience, hoping that they'll be able to get through a hearing in peace intact, but not reveal anything. And that got called out by Judge Zinnis. And now this particular lawyer is gone. I'm sure there's a backstory about Bridget Ohickey. I will keep an eye on it and keep you posted. In the meantime, I'm glad you're here on Midas Touch. Come over to Legal AF YouTube. Hit the free subscribe button. We're going to hit a million subscribers in the next month if it kills me. But with your help, we'll do it. And then of course, legal AF substack as well, where with a $6 paid subscription a month, you'll keep us on the air and keep all that content coming to you. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for It Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal A for there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on substack. Come over now to free subscribe this episode is brought to you by Lifelock.

A (20:08)

It's Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Lifelock has.

E (20:10)

Tips to protect your identity.

A (20:12)

Use strong passwords, set up multi factor.

E (20:14)

Authentication, report phishing and update the software on your devices.

A (20:18)

And for comprehensive identity protection, let Lifelock alert you to suspicious uses of your personal information.

E (20:24)

Lifelock also fixes identity theft, guaranteed or your money back. Stay smart, safe and protected with a.

A (20:30)

30 day free trial@lifelock.com Podcast terms apply. AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com.