I quote from the NYT obituary of Irmgard Furchner, who was a secretary to the commandant of a Nazi concentration camp and who was convicted by a German court of being an accessory to murder (in fact, to 10,000 murders) in 2021: “But in the ruling against her by Germany’s federal court of justice in August 2024 [on appeal], the judges wrote: The principle that typical, neutral professional activities of an everyday nature are not criminal does not apply here since the defendant knew what the main perpetrators were doing and supported them doing it.”

Yes, this is a German, not an American, court. And, yes, this deals with the Nazi period, not the Trump period. Yet, one wonders how much mid-level and lower-level federal employees during the Trump administration should be concerned about what might happen after the Trump days are over, and it becomes time when their activities during these years are examined. Something to think about.

On the same page of yesterday’s newspaper, there is an obituary for former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. A different lesson can be learned from the Armitage obituary. He was the individual who, during the run up to the Iraq War, apparently in a private conversation let slip the fact in 2003 that Valerie Plume was a CIA operative, something then reported publicly by Robert Novak (if you remember none of this, that’s okay). A barrage of criticism followed, and Armitage went on to apologize profusely for his error, to serve honorably in his position and to have the bravery as a life long Republican to speak out against Trump during the 2016 campaign and to actively support both Clinton and Biden in 2016 and 2020.

The lesson to be learned here? Actually, a few. First, mistakes will be made and it is not necessary to cancel someone when the make a mistake. Second, that apologies are brave, not cowardly. Thirdly, that when your side is wrong on something significant, admit it and don’t just follow the crowd or stay silent.

All important lessons.

I saw that Senator Van Hollen has met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, not at CECOT, but at what appeared to be a luxurious hotel restaurant. I also saw that President Trump, asked about various of the allegations against Abrego Garcia, said that “We will have to see the truth”, providing something that will be put into the court record, showing that even Trump is apparently at this time not sure about him.

I spent a little time last night looking at the evidence against Abrego Garcia, although this is not, or at least should not be, the crux of the case. Here is what I found out.

1. He came to the US from El Salvador at age 16, after his family had been threatened by gangs in El Salvador.
2. He has lived in Maryland since he got here.
3. He had been arrested in 2019 at a Home Depot parking lot. He says he was looking for a day job. He was one of four men; the government says that two of the men were clearly known as MS-13 members (I don’t know anything about this), and that Abrego Garcia was assumed to be an MS-13 member because he was wearing a Chicago Bulls cap, and a sweatshirt that showed rolls of money covering the faces of American presidents (I looked for a picture of sweatshirt, but could not find it). The Prince George’s County policeman who made the arrest was later fired for improper activity in an unrelated case. There were two hearings at this time, and immigration lawyers ordered that he  not be sent back to El Salvador because of fears of retribution.
4. He had been stopped, but not arrested, in 2022 in Tennessee because he was driving a van with 7 passengers and the officer who made the stop thought that it might be a case of sex trafficking. No charges were filed, and Abrego Garcia and the passengers were let go and not retained.
5. Four years ago, after a domestic fight, his wife got a temporary restraining order against him. Since then, she says, things have gotten much better, they have worked on their marriage and even gone to counseling. He has one child with her, by the way, and she has two from previous relationships or marriages whom he now fathers.
6. A Fox News commentator, Jesse Waters, says that everyone in El Salvador knows that a Bulls cap means the wearer belongs to MS-13. I read that, in fact, that a government profiling document says that a Bulls hat can indicate membership in Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang, not MS-13.
7. Pam Bondi has said that Abrego Garcia “is” a sex trafficker, which there is no evidence of whatsoever.  She has said that two courts have said that he is MS-13, which is also untrue.  She calls him a “terrorist”, and says that his wife and child are safer now that he is not in the country.

In fact, none of this is relevant to whether or not Mr. Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States. He should be returned to the United States because he has received no due process, required under the constitution, and for other procedural reasons. The president is correct: we have to find out the truth.

More than this, once Abrego Garcia is returned to the country, his return will make it more clear that all of the 260 or so men sent to

CECOT, presumably all Venezuelan, will have to be returned as well for the same procedural reasons, something that the courts have already ordered. But I think that the impact of returning Abrego Garcia on the fate of the other prisoners, and the potential threat to the entire CECOT arrangement, are some of the reasons that Trump et al are digging in so strong.

But I think he will be returned. I don’t think that any judge would believe that an American president, especially one who prides himself on his dealmaking, can’t facilitate his release.