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TNR / Greg Sargent: How Trump Accidentally Sabotaged His Own Case Against Abrego Garcia
TNR / Greg Sargent - (archived: https://archive.ph/DkVzg ) How Trump Accidentally Sabotaged His Own Case Against Abrego Garcia
Trump has now admitted twice that he could bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home, but says his lawyers are telling him not to. This was a very dumb move—and also a very revealing one.
Greg Sargent
May 3, 2025
He has now said it right out in the open—not once but twice. In two major interviews, President Donald Trump openly declared that he has the power to bring the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. And on both occasions, Trump said straight out that he is not doing so because administration lawyers have told him he doesn’t have to—or that he shouldn’t.
This has been widely seen as an admission that Trump is defying the Supreme Court, which has directed the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. Yes, it is that. But these two moments are also their own story. They offer a unique glimpse into the deep rot of bad faith infesting Trump and Stephen Miller’s broader project to expand the president’s removal powers into something extraordinarily vast and entirely unaccountable. They also show how Trump is inadvertently sabotaging his case against Abrego Garcia—and that broader project as well—with his bumbling incompetence.
“Bringing him back and retrying him wouldn’t bother me,” Trump told Time magazine, admitting that he has this option. “But I leave that decision to the lawyers. At this moment, they just don’t want to do that.”
Trump was even more direct in a recent interview with ABC News. “I could,” Trump shrugged when asked if he could pick up the phone and get Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to release Abrego Garcia from the prison in that country where he is currently wasting away.
“If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that,” Trump continued. “But he’s not.” Trump added that “we have lawyers that don’t want to do this.”
/snip
Trump has now admitted twice that he could bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home, but says his lawyers are telling him not to. This was a very dumb move—and also a very revealing one.
Greg Sargent
May 3, 2025
He has now said it right out in the open—not once but twice. In two major interviews, President Donald Trump openly declared that he has the power to bring the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. And on both occasions, Trump said straight out that he is not doing so because administration lawyers have told him he doesn’t have to—or that he shouldn’t.
This has been widely seen as an admission that Trump is defying the Supreme Court, which has directed the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. Yes, it is that. But these two moments are also their own story. They offer a unique glimpse into the deep rot of bad faith infesting Trump and Stephen Miller’s broader project to expand the president’s removal powers into something extraordinarily vast and entirely unaccountable. They also show how Trump is inadvertently sabotaging his case against Abrego Garcia—and that broader project as well—with his bumbling incompetence.
“Bringing him back and retrying him wouldn’t bother me,” Trump told Time magazine, admitting that he has this option. “But I leave that decision to the lawyers. At this moment, they just don’t want to do that.”
Trump was even more direct in a recent interview with ABC News. “I could,” Trump shrugged when asked if he could pick up the phone and get Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to release Abrego Garcia from the prison in that country where he is currently wasting away.
“If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that,” Trump continued. “But he’s not.” Trump added that “we have lawyers that don’t want to do this.”
/snip
1 replies
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