On Wednesday, Jan. 7, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. The same day, Trump administration officials announced, and expected the public to believe, that the victim had engaged in “domestic terrorism.”
On Thursday, Jan. 8, Vice President JD Vance told the White House press corps that the ICE agent who shot an unarmed mother in the face is “protected by absolute immunity.” On Friday, Jan. 9, the Trump administration blocked state and local officials from investigating Good’s death. (Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said a parallel probe is advancing anyway.)
On Saturday, Jan. 10, federal immigration officials refused to let members of Congress enter an ICE detention facility in Minneapolis. The officials were acting on a directive from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who quietly imposed new restrictions on congressional visits to immigration detention facilities.
The same day, The New York Times reported: “The investigation into the killing of Renee Nicole Good, 37, federal officials said, would be the exclusive province of the F.B.I., which is overseen by a director, Kash Patel, who has described President Trump as an unerring boss, and even a king.”
If you’re thinking this has the makings of a cover-up, you’re thinking along the same lines as Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, who spoke rather plainly and unreservedly about her concerns during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“I think what we are seeing here is the federal government, Kristi Noem, Vice President Vance, Donald Trump, attempt to cover up what happened here in the Twin Cities,” the senator told host Martha Raddatz. “And I don’t think that people here and around the country are believing it.”
Told that this was a rather provocative allegation, Smith added: “What I mean by that is that you can see everything that they are doing is trying to shape the narrative, to say what happened, without any investigation. And, you know, hours after Renee Good was shot and killed by federal agents, Kristi Noem was already telling us exactly what had happened. They were calling her a domestic terrorist before they even knew what her name was.” The Minnesotan, who’s retiring at the end of her current term, also said: “What I think is essential to keep in mind here is that if we’re going to trust the federal government, how can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw, what they think happened? And then they bar from participating in the investigation the unbiased state investigators who frequently collaborate with federal investigators when there are things that need to be looked into. “So, I mean, I think they have just completely destroyed any credibility as they have so quickly rushed to judgment.” We’ve all heard the expression “Shoot first, ask questions later.” So long as the Trump administration instead says, “Shoot first, never ask questions,” concerns such as those raised by Smith will continue.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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