Our Clueless President ... And Our Disinterested Press Corps

It's increasingly evident that Donald Trump doesn't know what his administration is doing on the Abrego Garcia deportation case. Why is the national media not more focused on it?

I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If you were sent this email or are a free subscriber and would like to become a paid subscriber, you can sign up here.

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The New Republic’s Greg Sargent had me on his podcast to talk about yesterday’s post on Stephen Miller and President Trump’s apparent ignorance that his administration is defying a Supreme Court decision.

You can listen to the entire conversation here — it was a great discussion.

Polaris/Newscom

As a quick follow-up on yesterday’s post, there’s a bit more grist for the mill on this issue.

After my post on Donald Trump’s Time interview went up, The Atlantic published its own 100 Days interview with the president, and this passage is particularly interesting.

Scherer: In terms of a definitive answer, you still believe the judiciary is an equal branch of government and you will abide by whatever the Supreme Court says in the end?

Trump: Oh, yeah. No, I always have. I always have, yeah. I always have. I’ve relied on that. I haven’t always agreed with the decision, but I’ve never done anything but rely on it. No, you have to do that. And with that being said, we have some judges that are very, very tough. I believe you could have a 100 percent case—in other words, a case that’s not losable—and you will lose violently. Some of these judges are really unfair.

This statement bears remarkable similarity to what Trump told Time last week.

I'm not defying the Supreme Court. I never defy the Supreme Court. I wouldn't do that. I'm a big believer in the Supreme Court, and have a lot of respect for the Justices.

I’m not usually in the business of giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt, but his administration has generally adhered to Court orders — and there have been a lot of them.. Keep in mind that in Trump’s first term, federal courts issued 64 nationwide injunctions against Trump administration policies. In Trump’s second term, there have been more than 70 court rulings “impeding” the president’s policy initiatives. As far as I can tell, Trump has generally complied with these decisions. The major exception is the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. Trump’s statement to The Atlantic is yet another piece of evidence that he is simply unaware that his administration is defying the Supreme Court — or even that the court ruled against him.

Here’s another data point. The Atlantic’s Nick Miroff had an interesting article last week that makes a point I have not seen elsewhere: “in the days after the administration first discovered its mistake, instead of trying to foreclose Abrego Garcia’s return, officials looked for ways to bring him home.”

A lawsuit filed by Abrego Garcia’s family sparked urgent conversations among attorneys at the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security who were involved in formulating the government’s response.

These conversations show that U.S. officials initially sought to resolve Abrego Garcia’s case quietly and ensure his safety through the conventional diplomatic channels they’ve used in other cases involving a mistaken deportation. This time, though, their efforts were abruptly halted.

So what changed? Stephen Miller got involved.

Vice President J. D. Vance, the Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Bondi, and other top Cabinet officials went on the attack. The White House went from calling Abrego Garcia’s deportation a “clerical error” to insisting that no mistake had been made at all.

Miller, in particular, was determined to use the designation of MS-13 and other criminal groups as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” to supercharge deportations and bypass standard due-process protections. …. Miller took charge of the White House’s messaging, castigating reporters who asked about the case. He also cheered on the administration’s escalating standoff with the judicial branch. After the Supreme Court directed U.S. officials on April 10 to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador, Miller publicly claimed the opposite.

Two aspects of this story are noteworthy.