By james art (Central Square) – Florida is suing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland for blocking a state investigation into the second Florida killing of former President Donald Trump.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody prosecuted Garland in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Fort Pierce Division.
Florida alleges that the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation violated the Declaratory Judgment Act and the Tenth Amendment. The court is asking the court to allow Florida to conduct its own investigation without federal interference.
Roughly two months after the first attempt on Trump’s life in July, a second attempt was made on September 15 outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Immediately afterward, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida would launch its own investigation. He issued an executive order directing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol to work with the OAG’s Office of the State Attorney to ensure appropriate state charges are filed. Charges may include “attempted murder, fleeing and eluding, and charges related to … illegal possession of firearms,” according to the complaint.
In response, under the direction of the Department of Justice, an FBI special agent verbally ordered state law enforcement officials to end their investigation, citing federal code, 18 USC § 351(f). In a phone call, he argued that the federal government can temporarily “suspend the exercise of jurisdiction by a state or local authority” when it asserts jurisdiction over an assassination attempt on a major presidential candidate.
“In conversations with federal officials and in subsequent correspondence, those officials stated that Florida could not conduct its own investigation, could not interview witnesses, and could only cooperate with the federal government’s investigation,” Florida’s lawsuit states.
Moody argued that federal code “does not prohibit such conduct, and because it would violate the Tenth Amendment if it went that far, Florida sued to protect its sovereign interest in investigating violations of state law because delay might affect the outcome of any prosecution,” the brief said.
The federal directive was issued even though only firearms-related charges were filed at the time, not attempted murder under § 351.
Moody told the FBI that the verbal directive was insufficient to invoke the authority and indicated that no charge of attempted murder had been filed. One week later, charges were filed and the FBI responded by saying her argument was moot. The federal government then asked the trial court assigned to the state’s criminal case to remove it from the trial calendar until further notice, the brief said.
Florida disagreed, arguing that the Justice Department’s position violates the Tenth Amendment, which states: “Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people respectively .”
Florida’s suit also states that the Supreme Court has interpreted the Tenth Amendment “to impose a rule against command,” arguing that the “Federal Government” cannot “command officers of the States or those of their political subdivisions to administer or imposed a federal regulatory program.”
The Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution does not apply in this case, Florida further argues, and the federal government is unlawfully interfering with the criminal investigation.
“The mere fact that a state may not exercise its right to investigate violations of its own laws is a sovereign harm sufficient to trigger Article III jurisdiction.” But the specific damages to the state go beyond this harm to its sovereignty,” the Florida lawsuit argued.
Prohibiting Florida officials from interviewing witnesses or executing search warrants or subpoenas “is very important. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and the state has no way to compel the federal government to cooperate with state prosecutions,” the brief said.
“Every day that Florida is prevented from investigating, the state’s case becomes more difficult to prove at trial. In contrast, the federal government suffers no harm from Florida investigating state law crimes because the state has no intention of interfering with or obstructing the federal investigation.
“The State of Florida was adamant that a bipartisan investigation would be in the best interest of all parties involved,” Moody said. “We have not forgotten that the American people have concerns about the federal agencies that are exclusively dealing with this matter while investigating and trying to prosecute President Trump.” Given that the Department of Justice is preventing our independent investigation from proceeding, we have filed suit to ensure that Florida can take appropriate action to enforce its laws.
DeSantis called for an investigation as members of Florida’s congressional delegation, including military veterans, continue to demand answers, The Center Square reported.