McIver case presents stumbling blocks for Trump DOJ

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5316437-lamonica-mciver-habba-doj-new-jersey/?tbref=hp

Alina Habba, a former personal attorney to President Trump now serving as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, has accused McIver of assaulting law enforcement with her forearms during a chaotic clash that ensued after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers began to arrest Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D).

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, described the first document filed in the case as highly flawed. 

“It’s one of the most embarrassing publicly filed charging documents from a U.S. attorney’s office that I’ve ever seen,” Goldman told The Hill.“When you then compare the written allegations to the photos that are included, it’s clear the written allegations do not accurately reflect what the photos show. Then, when you look at the video, it’s even less accurate, and it is because it’s so weak and thin, it is so clear that it is a purely political charge.”

“It is so clear that there’s no intent to inflict any physical harm or do anything with the necessary criminal intent. She’s in a scrum and is just trying to protect herself. And even if she did use her forearm to push an agent as part of a scrum, it would never, ever be charged against an average bystander, and certainly not against an elected official who has a constitutional right to be there,” Goldman said.