ICE DEFENSE: The White House has been thrust back on defense over the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after an officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis.
Backlash has been growing since the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good in her vehicle on Wednesday. Protests have broken out in major cities across the country as Democrats call for an investigation into what happened.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) slammed the Trump administration for denying the state the ability to participate in the investigation.
"And I just want to make this as clear as possible to everyone: Minnesota must be part of this investigation," he said.
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) made that call bipartisan, saying federal and local authorities should work together to conduct a "thorough and objective" investigation into what happened.
Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith (D) thanked Murkowski in a response to her post on X, saying Minnesota authorities "have to be involved."
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said local officials will launch their own independent probe.
Videos from witnesses show Macklin Good sitting in her car in the middle of a street as officers surround the vehicle, telling her to exit. As one grabbed at the driver's door, she began accelerating. An officer fired at her through the windshield and continued firing as her vehicle turned to leave.
Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have accused the woman of trying to run the officer over and argued it was an instance of self-defense, but local and state officials have rejected that.
Vance pushed back forcefully on criticism of the officer during a press briefing at the White House on Thursday, arguing that left-wing activists are to blame for the woman's death.
"I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it's a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left, who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers," he said.
Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are demanding that the committee's Republican majority call Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before Congress to testify about what happened.
Another shooting involving federal agents in Portland, Ore., has sparked protests and scrutiny of the use of force.
The Thursday shooting involving U.S. Border Patrol agents left two people hospitalized. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill that agents were in Portland trying to conduct a "targeted vehicle stop" when the driver attempted to "weaponize" his vehicle.
"Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene," she said.
DHS alleged the driver is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but local leaders raised questions about that.
"Huge concern about a reported shooting of two individuals by federal agents outside Portland Adventist Hospital. My team and I are closely monitoring this situation and are working hard to get answers," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a post on the social platform X.
Some Democrats have signaled they want to hold ICE's feet to the fire over the incident in Minneapolis, possibly using the threat of a government shutdown to force reforms at DHS.
The administration hasn't backed down from deploying ICE in various major cities. And while immigration has generally been one of Trump's most popular issues with the public, some tactics by federal agents have drawn concern.
▪ The Hill: Minneapolis mayor says Noem knows narrative is 'bulls---."
▪ The Hill: Attorney General Pam Bondi warns protesters.
RUBIO MEETING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Danish officials next week amid Trump's ramped-up rhetoric about the U.S. acquiring Greenland.
Rubio told reporters he will have "those conversations" about the semiautonomous island, owned by Denmark, during the meeting, though he didn't specify the date or location. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen confirmed the meeting to a Danish outlet.
"It is, of course, a sign that we now have the opportunity to talk directly instead of doing it through the media, and having a meeting is always a good idea," Poulsen said.
Trump has openly mused about acquiring Greenland throughout his second term, but his focus has intensified over the past week following the Maduro raid. He's argued acquiring Greenland is necessary to safeguard U.S. national security.
But Danish and Greenlandic officials have pushed back strongly on the idea, rejecting the possibility of the territory being sold. They've also slammed Trump's comments as threats that could jeopardize the longstanding NATO alliance.
Rubio said Trump "always retains the option" to use force when national security is threatened but would prefer the situation to be resolved through other ways.
▪ Reuters: Officials considering payments to Greenlanders to sway them.
▪ The New York Times: An old agreement already gives the U.S. a generous foothold.
EPSTEIN FILES REQUEST: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have requested that a federal judge appoint a special master to oversee the Department of Justice's (DOJ) mandatory release of its files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The congressmen sent a letter Thursday to Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York to make the request. Three weeks have passed since the deadline Congress imposed for the DOJ to release the Epstein files.
While the DOJ has released many documents before and after the deadline, many others remain private.
Massie and Khanna led the effort to push Congress to pass legislation requiring the files' release.
"Put simply, the DOJ cannot be trusted with making mandatory disclosures under the Act," they said.
▪ NBC News: House committee approves more Epstein subpoenas.
PROSECUTOR DISQUALIFIED: A federal judge has disqualified the top prosecutor in upstate New York who has been overseeing an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), dealing another blow to the administration's probe.
U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled on Thursday that acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III's service "was and is unlawful" because the DOJ maneuvered to keep him in the position after judges declined to extend his term.
"When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority," Schofield said in her ruling.
The DOJ's criminal case against James over allegations of mortgage fraud was already thrown out after Lindsey Halligan, another Trump-picked federal prosecutor, was disqualified from her role. The DOJ appealed that decision after two separate grand juries declined to reindict James.
Sarcone has also been seeking to investigate James for months, having requested subpoenas in August seeking information about James's civil fraud case against Trump and his business.
Sarcone's 120-day interim appointment expired in July, but Bondi named him a "special attorney" to try to keep him in his role.
He is just the latest of Trump's handpicked prosecutors to be disqualified from their role. Others include Halligan, Alina Habba in New Jersey and Julianne Murray in Delaware.
▪ The Hill: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recuses himself from oil case.
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