A fight over Minnesota judges’ immigration comments has entered two federal cases: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking their recusal in a voting prosecution and a citizenship suit.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. filed a motion against U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim on Oct. 20, asking him to step aside from the case against Hester Sophia Weihmann. The motion points to an interview Tunheim gave The New York Times, published Sept. 17. “They weren’t arresting, in my view, people who were dangerous criminals on the street,” Tunheim said. Woodward argued the remarks create an appearance of bias in Weihmann’s case.
DOJ said a grand jury indicted Weihmann on Sept. 24. The department identified her as a 69-year-old South African national and said she was accused of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote and voting as a noncitizen in Minnesota on Nov. 5, 2024. Weihmann pleaded not guilty to both counts on Sept. 29, according to Woodward’s motion asking Tunheim to recuse. The allegations have not been proven.
CBS News and the Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Woodward filed a separate motion against U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz on Oct. 20. It concerns the government’s civil case against Salah Osman Ahmed, filed May 7, which seeks to revoke and set aside his naturalization. The outlets reported that the motion argues Schiltz’s public comments raise questions about his impartiality in Ahmed’s case.
The motions follow a Sept. 30 DOJ complaint asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to investigate Minnesota judges. DOJ sought the recusal from cases involving the Department of Homeland Security of judges who spoke to The New York Times about immigration cases.
Federal law requires a judge to disqualify himself or herself when impartiality “might reasonably be questioned.” Judicial Conference ethics guidance permits judges to speak generally about judicial independence and the rule of law, while cautioning against public comments on pending cases and political activity. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Oct. 21 that neither judge had indicated whether they would recuse.
