Minnesota officials say the Trump administration has cut them out of an investigation into the ICE killing.<\/b>
\nMinnesota officials said Thursday that the Trump administration has barred them from assisting in the investigation into an ICE agent\u2019s killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, marking an extreme step in the GOP\u2019s seeming all-out efforts to prevent accountability for the shooter.
The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the state\u2019s investigations agency, said that federal officials are barring the office from accessing any evidence necessary to investigate the killing.
Despite initially agreeing to conduct the investigation jointly with the BCA on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office and FBI changed course that afternoon. As the Trump administration was furiously spinning lies about the shooting, the BCA was informed that the FBI would assume sole responsibility for the probe.
The FBI said that the BCA would \u201cno longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,\u201d said BCA Superintendent Drew Evans.
\u201cWithout complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation,\u201d Evans said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the decision on Thursday, saying that state investigators \u201cdon\u2019t have any jurisdiction in this investigation,\u201d despite crimes like murder typically not rising to a federal offense unless a federal officer is killed.
The move has sparked outcry, with critics saying that the Trump administration is trying to cover up the killing.
\u201cYou don\u2019t cut out investigators unless you\u2019re hiding something. Kristi Noem\u2019s DHS is covering up the killing of a U.S. citizen,\u201d said the Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are also seeking to shield DHS from facing accountability for the killing.
In the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts) motioned to subpoena DHS and ICE for records and footage of the shooting in order for members of Congress to help hold the government accountable.
However, Republicans blocked the move, with every GOP member voting against it.
\u201cDHS\u2019 claim that an agent shot in self-defense is a bold-faced lie and the video footage is damning,\u201d said Pressley in a statement after the vote. \u201cBut after I moved to subpoena all records and footage related to this killing, Republicans shamefully voted it down \u2014 demonstrating once again that they have never cared about law and order or keeping our communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n