Trump DOJ Humiliated in Minnesota as GOP Judge Shuts Down Scheme

Summary

Legal AF by MeidasTouch

Episode: Trump DOJ Humiliated in Minnesota as GOP Judge Shuts Down Scheme
Date: January 28, 2026
Host: Michael Popok (MeidasTouch Network)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the recent legal blow dealt to the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding its attempt to pursue charges against journalist Don Lemon in Minnesota. Michael Popok details how Chief Judge Schultz—a conservative, Federalist Society Republican—thwarted DOJ efforts, rebuking both their procedures and their factual basis, and in the process, effectively exonerated Don Lemon. The discussion dives into judicial independence, press freedom, and political overreach, offering inside analysis on how this case exemplifies broader abuses and backfires within Trump-allied DOJ efforts.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Background: DOJ’s Attempts to Indict Don Lemon

• Incident Origin:

  • Stems from Jan. 18 protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota church, involving five protestors and covered live by Don Lemon and his producer.
  • Lemon’s role was purely journalistic—present to record, not participate.

• DOJ's Legal Tactic:

  • DOJ, led by Pam Bondi, sought probable cause criminal complaints and arrest warrants for eight individuals from a magistrate judge (Judge Miko); Lemon and his producer were included.
  • Magistrate approved for three, but rejected probable cause for Lemon and his producer, explicitly recognizing their journalistic status.

2. Chief Judge Schultz’s Extraordinary Intervention

• Unprecedented Letters and Emails:

  • Schultz, a conservative judge, directly communicated with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, openly criticizing DOJ’s unusual attempt to overrule a magistrate’s denial of arrests.
    • Quote:

      "I've never had a situation where a senior, a district chief judge... has written letters and emails to an appellate court... not just to present why a certain action shouldn't be taken against them..."
      — Michael Popok [01:46]

  • Schultz decried the government’s improper process—in particular, their failure to notify him and their lack of precedent for their actions.

• Judicial Exoneration of Don Lemon:

  • Explicitly states there is “no evidence that those two [Lemon and his producer] engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.”
    • Quote from Schultz (via Popok):

      “Two of the five protesters were not protesters at all. Instead, they were a journalist and his producer. That's Don Lemon. There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.”
      — Michael Popok paraphrasing Judge Schultz [12:30]

  • Effectively “puts his arms around Lemon” and shields him from further DOJ action.

3. The Broader Political and Legal Context

• Pattern of Overreach:

  • Trump administration’s hostility toward journalists and free speech highlighted; similar tactics deployed against Washington Post reporters and others.

• Repeated DOJ Failures and Humiliations:

  • Pam Bondi’s efforts repeatedly rebuffed—by both federal judges and grand juries.
  • Recent embarrassment for other Trump cabinet officials (Kristi Noem sidelined; Border Patrol leadership in upheaval).

• Grand Juries Decline to Indict:

  • Multiple grand jury sessions in Minnesota conclude with no indictment for Don Lemon.
  • Quote:

    “There’s been several grand juries, including one on Tuesday. And yet, no, no indication there’s been a presentation, certainly no return of an indictment... He’s effectively exonerated Don Lemon.”
    — Michael Popok [13:30]

4. Judicial Pushback and Signs of Hope

• Schultz’s Actions Against ICE:

  • Judge Schultz also threatened ICE leadership with contempt for illegally holding detainees, further illustrating judicial independence even among conservative judges.
    • Quote:

      “He said either release this one detainee who’s been illegally over and, and in contempt, been held without a bail hearing... or show up on Friday to tell me why you’re not in contempt. And then the Trump administration released him.”
      — Michael Popok [15:12]

• Commentary on the System’s Guardrails:

  • Popok underscores the importance of persistent legal pressure and the role played by principled judges—even conservatives—in upholding rights and legal norms.
    • Quote:

      “If you bring the heat, you’re going to melt ICE. And that’s what we’re working on right now, folks.”
      — Michael Popok [15:52]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Judicial Unprecedented Action:

  “I’ve never seen a chief judge step out and effectively put his arms around somebody and exonerate them... This is chief judges who don’t even want to be here. You think this Chief Judge Schultz... wants to be doing this? No, but he will.”
  — Michael Popok [13:54]

• On DOJ Process Abuse:

  “He says it is unheard of in his district or any other district... for the Department of Justice to try to override a magistrate judge and obtain an arrest warrant.”
  — Michael Popok paraphrasing Judge Schultz [11:44]

• Re. Lemon’s Role as Journalist:

  “These were journalists covering the story, not violently making the story.”
  — Michael Popok [07:48]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Judge Schultz’s Letter Rebuking DOJ: [10:41–13:15]
• Breakdown of Protest Incident and Lemon’s Role: [04:40–07:20]
• Review of Grant/Denial of Warrants by Magistrate: [06:58–07:48]
• Discussion of Failed Grand Juries and Exoneration: [12:35–13:30]
• DOJ/ICE Held in Contempt by Judge Schultz: [15:07–15:52]

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Episode Tone and Language

Michael Popok maintains a sharp, incisive, and at times sardonic tone, blending deep legal expertise with punchy, accessible commentary. References to inside knowledge and colorful phrases (“If you bring the heat, you’re going to melt ICE”) pepper the narrative, keeping both legal experts and lay listeners engaged.

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Summary

This Legal AF episode offers a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at how even a Trump-appointed, conservative chief judge in Minnesota humiliated the DOJ’s overreach, effectively exonerated Don Lemon, and provided a powerful example of the legal guardrails still functioning against political abuse. The takeaways underscore the essential role of the judiciary—even those ideologically distant from the targets of prosecution—in defending constitutional principles and the freedom of the press, while chronicling a stinging series of defeats for Trump-aligned legal actors in Minnesota and beyond.

Transcript

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[Michael Popak]

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[Michael Popak]

Another grand jury in Minnesota come and gone, and no report of an indictment against journalist Don Lemon because Donald Trump has met his match. His name is Chief Judge Schultz. He's a conservative Federalist Society arch Republican. But he's taking it to the Trump administration like perhaps no other judge has done in the last several months. And after I report on what Judge Schultz told the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in letters that he wrote to the 8th Circuit about their attempt to indict or arrest Don Lemon, he effectively exonerates Don Lemon. Is there any doubt now why the Trump administration has publicly reported that they are not going to seek arrest warrants against Don Lemon any longer? Not from a magistrate judge. Their only gambit left is to try to indict him through a grand jury. But we've had several grand jury days come and go and still no indictment. I think when I'm done with this hot take, you'll know why. I'm Michael Popak. You're on the Mystouch Network and Legal aforementioned. I've been doing this a long time. 35 years. I've never had a situation where a senior, a district chief judge, or any judge in federal court has written letters and emails to an appellate court, not just to present why a certain action shouldn't be taken against them in this case, Pam Bondi running off improvidently to get a writ of mandamus to compel Judge Schultz to override a magistrate judge and enter and sign off on a criminal complaint on probable cause and enter an arrest warrant against Don Lemon. He didn't just go through why he's not going to do that. He didn't just tell the 8th Circuit in these two letters that the procedure is odd, unprecedented, and unheard of in this district or any other district. That there's been no circumstances where a magistrate judge who sits Underneath an Article 3 judge has denied the probable cause for an arrest warrant and have it overridden by a district court judge. Never. It's not just that said, he goes further, and he effectively exonerates Don Lemon, which will then explain everything that follows, which is several grand juries have come and gone, and none of them indicted Don Lemon. There's no reports that there's even been a presentation to the. To the grand jury. It may be a secret process, but believe me, we've got boots on the ground, and we know what's going on there. So this all stems. Are you on the Midas Touch Network? Illegal laugh, by the way. Michael Pop, get the free subscribe button. This all stems from a Jan. 18 protest at the city's church in St. Paul, Minnesota, that was covered live on Substack live and on YouTube for Don Lemon with about five protesters who went into the church and protested against somebody in the church being affiliated with ice. And Don was there to record it. We know that because he recorded it. We know that because we've seen the YouTube channel. He's a journalist with a producer. He's not a protester. There's no violence. Play a clip.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

You know, while I agree with everybody's freedom to protest, these people have come into our house, and they've interrupted our worship. If I was to break into any of their houses uninvited, I would be kicked out. Ultimately, it's not a good way.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

They're saying that people are showing up at houses where they're citizens without due process. The battering ram into someone's private property, and there's no recourse.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

This is all part of a much larger dialogue. On one side are people who watched a previous administration bring 12 million people in over the course of four years. This is another administration's corrective. I think I could actually be sympathetic to some of the things where there have been challenges to compassion and decency at the same time. These are what are called targeted interventions by ICE to keep the American people safe.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

I respectfully may interject here. I've been out reporting on a lot of these, and they're not targeted. There are no warrants signed by a judge. Most of the people that they detain don't have criminal convictions or criminal records.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

I'm not going to get into the weeds.

[Michael Popak]

This is.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

You should know that, though. Don't you think that's part of it?

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

Yes. And I could also show you many opposing sides. I'm not saying it's pretty. This is a part of a much larger dialogue in which one administration caused a great deal of chaos and havoc and danger for American citizens, and another is trying to correct that.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

Do you believe that? Why do. Honestly, let me talk to you just on the fact. Yes, I am. I want to give you the facts.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

No, no, no.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

That's the interesting thing about this, is that they won't listen to facts.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

When you go as a journalist.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

I am a journalist. Journalist gives. Fact. Gives.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

And then you start correcting me with facts and don't have.

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

You shouldn't hear the facts. Of course I hear the people who are picked up.

[Pro-ICE Commentator]

Will you give me the facts on both sides?

[Anti-ICE Commentator]

That is the facts on both sides.

[Michael Popak]

Okay. Now, they then present, a few days later, the Department of Justice to a magistrate judge, Judge Miko. Affidavits to support eight different criminal complaints. Because until you can get an indictment from a grand jury and you need an arrest warrant, you got to go prove probable cause to a magistrate judge in federal court. Now, the magistrate judge sits below an Article 3 Judge District Court judge, but has all the power in that arena. And for and for three out of the eight not named, Don Lemon and his producer, magistrate judge said probable cause looks like it's established. Go make the arrests. Okay. But he rejected it. For Don Lemon and his producer, primarily observing properly that these were journalists. These were journalists covering the story, not. Not violently making the story. Well, Bonnie didn't like that because it doesn't play within her narrative and that of the administration. Right. This is a administration that goes after journalists and First Amendment speech makers and commentators going after the Washington Post reporter trying to grab up all of her confidential informants and her sources. And here went after Don Lemon. Full disclosure, I know Don sat next to him at a wedding. I think it was Ben Mysalas his wedding provide his touch. And there we are. Okay, so now we've got this series of letters which will explain, I believe, why we don't see, we don't see the government going after Don Levin neither for arrest warrant, meaning not going through a magistrate process nor with ears to the ground trying to get a grand jury. Good luck in Minnesota to indict Don Lemon. We saw what happened when Donald Trump tries to do these extraordinary illegal, immoral, abuse of power indictments. Letitia James, not only has she her indictment New York attorney general against her for mortgage fraud twice. Twice, once was kicked by a federal judge. The other one, two other times actually a grand jury rejected it. That's three times they failed to get an indictment against her. James Comey Boom. Indictment dismissed. Aging doesn't hit you all at once.

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[Michael Popak]

So here's what the magistrate judge says. After Bondi runs to the 8th Circuit to try to get the 8th Circuit to issue what's called a writ of mandamus, to compel this district court judge to override the magistrate judge and issue an arrest warrant and sign off on her criminal complaint. They didn't even have the courtesy, apparently, to inform Judge Schultz, Chief Judge Republican, that they were going to do this. So the 8th Circuit wrote to Judge Schultz, who happened to be home caring for a child, and asked for his opinion about the mandamus. And here's what he said, and I think this. The snarkiness was intended. He says, I received an email from the 8th Circuit, in re United States of America, asking me to file a response at my discretion to the petition for writ of mandamus by 2pm Friday, January 23rd. The judge says, this is the first that I heard of any petition for a writ of mandamus. The United States didn't have the courtesy of giving me a copy. I'm unable to access my documents, and they are sealed, apparently even from me. So I have been given about two and a half hours to respond to a mandamus petition that I've not read and cannot read. Apparently, I'm supposed to guess what the petition is about and guess what the mandamus petition says and then respond, So I will do so. He then says it is unheard of in his district or any other district, and it is unprecedented for the Department of Justice to try to override a magistrate judge and obtain an arrest warrant. The reason why, he says on page two, is likely that if the government does not like the magistrate judge's decision, it could either improve the affidavit presented again to the same magistrate, or it can present its case to a grand jury and get an indictment. Criminal complaint on probable cause gets cleared by a magistrate judge. If it doesn't, you can always take it to an indictment. Okay. They didn't like the fact that the judge was taking so long to rule. He said, I need a few days. And so as a result, they ran in improvidently to ask for that, asked for that mandamus. And here's what he says about the case. The five. This is on page three. This is. This is basically the exoneration of Don Lemon. The five people whom the government seeks to arrest are accused of entering a church. And the worst behavior alleged about any of them is yelling horrible things at the members of the church. None committed any acts of violence. The leaders were arrested. And then instead, the government is insisting that I do something that as best I can tell, no district judge in the history of the 8th Circuit has done. He then continues in a follow up email to clear Don Lemon, he says, I will respond. Briefly, the government lumps all eight protesters and says things that are true of some, but not all of them. Two of the five protesters were not protesters at all. Instead, they were a journalist at his producer. That's Don Lemon. There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so. He's challenged Judge Schultz, has challenged the Department of Justice to go to a grand jury and there's been several grand juries, including one on Tuesday. And yet, no, no indication there's been a presentation, certainly no return of an indictment. Got that? He's effectively exonerated Don Lemon. Can't ask for more than that if you're a defense lawyer. 35 years of doing this, I've never seen a chief judge step out and effectively put his arms around somebody and exonerate them. Which would explain why we now have new reporting that the Department of Justice is not going to go through the magistrate judge to try to get another arrest warrant and another criminal complaint, perhaps supported by additional affidavits, approved. No, they're going to try, potentially, who knows, to indict or do they just walk away? We just saw two major leaders in Trump's cabinet get embarrassed and humiliated basically in the same 24 to 48 hour period. Kristi Noem, who had her entire approach to Minneapolis reworked, sidelined and revised by Donald Trump. She's out, effectively, Dan. Greg Bevino, the head of Border Patrol, out Tom Holman, the bribe taking, alleged bribe taking, border czar, in reporting directly not to Kristi Noem, but to Donald Trump. At the same time, Pam Bondi gets rejected by the 8th Circuit and by Chief Judge Schultz in Minnesota. This follows up on last week when she got rejected and Lindsey Halligan had to resign in disgrace and hasn't been heard from since. As a prosecutor has no role, the Department of Justice, apparently. These are good things that we're watching, right? This is, this is chief judges who don't even want to be here. You think this Chief Judge Schultz, who's a Federalist Society member, right wing, arch conservative, wants to be doing this? No, but he will. Earlier today, he issued an order of possible contempt against Todd Lyons, the head of ice. He said either release this one detainee who's been illegally over and, and in contempt, been held without a bail hearing, without a bond hearing, release him immediately, or show up on Friday to tell me why you're not in contempt. And then the Trump administration released him. Yeah, good things happen when you continue to exert pressure. Right? This is right. If you bring the heat, you're going to melt ice. And that's what we're working on right now, folks. Glad you're here on the Midas Touch network and on Legal af. Take a minute. Hit the Free subscribe button here and the same Free subscribe button over on Legalif YouTube channel. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak.

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