Senator Fires Back at White House Over Demand He ‘Apologize’
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) hit back at White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday after she demanded he apologize.
Van Hollen was the most vocal advocate for the due process rights of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man the Trump administration deported to El Salvador in March, where he was imprisoned with more than 230 other deportees. The Trump administration alleged that Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland at the time of his deportation, was an MS-13 gang member. Lawyers for Abrego Garcia sued, arguing he had been denied due process, and that his deportation to El Salvador violated a 2019 order from an immigration judge. A district court judge ruled in Abrego Garcia’s favor, and instructed the Trump administration to arrange his return. That ruling was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court.
The administration finally agreed to bring the deportee back to the U.S. this week and on Friday announced he was being federally indicted on two counts: conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawful transport of undocumented aliens.
Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, joined Friday’s AC360 on CNN to discuss.
“I’ve said I’m not vouching for the man, Abrego Garcia,” the senator said. “This is not about him. It is about his constitutional rights. And I think we all recognize that if the Trump administration can trample over his constitutional rights, it’s a very short road to tyranny when they can essentially put all of our constitutional rights in jeopardy.
Host Anderson Cooper responded by reading a statement from Leavitt.
“I want to read what a part of a statement released by the White House,” he said. “They said, in part, ‘The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat senator Chris Van Hollen, and every single so-called journalist who defended this illegal criminal abuser must immediately apologize to Garcia’s victims.’ Your response to that?”
Van Hollen replied:
I will never apologize for defending the Constitution. In fact, it’s the Trump administration and all his cronies who should apologize to the country for putting us through this unnecessary situation, and to Abrego Garcia for putting him through this situation, and his family.
All I have said from the beginning is that the Trump administration should respect the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States. So really, it’s President Trump who should apologize to the country for violating his oath to the Constitution. I’m glad in this moment, they’re finally, finally doing what the Supreme Court said. But they continue, Anderson, to violate the Constitution and many, many other cases.
Watch above via CNN.
