Justice Department Altered Investigation into ICE Officer Who Killed Pregnant Woman After Receiving Pressure from Aides, Documents Suggest.
A shocking internal memo obtained by MS NOW reveals the U.S. Attorney's office and FBI agents in Minnesota were instructed to pivot a civil rights investigation into an officer's fatal shooting of Renee Good into a probe for possible criminal liability against her after she was already deceased.
According to three people familiar with the discussions, aides to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directed the agency to change its focus from investigating potential wrongdoing by the ICE officer who shot and killed Good on January 7th. Instead, the investigation shifted to looking into a suspected assault on an officer - a drastic shift that raised eyebrows among law enforcement officials.
In a bizarre twist, FBI agents drafted a search warrant for Good's car to gather evidence about the path of bullets fired from her vehicle but were ultimately instructed to redraft their warrant and alter its purpose. A federal magistrate judge rejected this new warrant, noting that Good was no longer alive and could not be considered a suspect.
The unusual handling of the investigation has sparked outrage among some in the law enforcement community. An FBI supervisor, Tracee Mergen, who oversees fraud and public corruption cases in the Minneapolis field office, resigned in frustration over the department's leadership on this matter.
Experts say that altering a federal search warrant is extremely rare and typically requires a compelling reason. The Justice Department's decision to redirect its investigation has led to a series of embarrassing setbacks for the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota, including rejected arrest warrants and criminal complaints submitted against protesters.
The controversy surrounding the ICE officer who shot and killed Good has detonated into a wave of criticism across the state, particularly from federal law enforcement officials. Six prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office resigned over the decision to investigate Good and her partner rather than the shooting itself, and more are expected to follow suit.
A shocking internal memo obtained by MS NOW reveals the U.S. Attorney's office and FBI agents in Minnesota were instructed to pivot a civil rights investigation into an officer's fatal shooting of Renee Good into a probe for possible criminal liability against her after she was already deceased.
According to three people familiar with the discussions, aides to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directed the agency to change its focus from investigating potential wrongdoing by the ICE officer who shot and killed Good on January 7th. Instead, the investigation shifted to looking into a suspected assault on an officer - a drastic shift that raised eyebrows among law enforcement officials.
In a bizarre twist, FBI agents drafted a search warrant for Good's car to gather evidence about the path of bullets fired from her vehicle but were ultimately instructed to redraft their warrant and alter its purpose. A federal magistrate judge rejected this new warrant, noting that Good was no longer alive and could not be considered a suspect.
The unusual handling of the investigation has sparked outrage among some in the law enforcement community. An FBI supervisor, Tracee Mergen, who oversees fraud and public corruption cases in the Minneapolis field office, resigned in frustration over the department's leadership on this matter.
Experts say that altering a federal search warrant is extremely rare and typically requires a compelling reason. The Justice Department's decision to redirect its investigation has led to a series of embarrassing setbacks for the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota, including rejected arrest warrants and criminal complaints submitted against protesters.
The controversy surrounding the ICE officer who shot and killed Good has detonated into a wave of criticism across the state, particularly from federal law enforcement officials. Six prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office resigned over the decision to investigate Good and her partner rather than the shooting itself, and more are expected to follow suit.
like i was reading about it in class yesterday and its crazy how they were investigating 2 ppl instead of the officer who killed that pregnant woman... i feel bad for Renee's family and stuff 
but why did they change the investigation like that? didnt they want to find out if the officer was even guilty? 
it makes sense why some law enforcement folks are upset because its not right. i wish we could learn more about what happened behind closed doors... this is a huge mess
The Justice Department just altered their investigation into an ICE officer who killed a pregnant woman after receiving pressure from his aides? That's insane! 
The fact that they changed the focus of the investigation from looking into potential wrongdoing on the part of the officer to investigating a suspected assault on him is just ridiculous. I mean, what even happened here? 
The fact that this has led to a wave of criticism from federal law enforcement officials, including some prosecutors quitting their jobs, is a real shame. I hope they get to the bottom of what really happened here and hold those responsible accountable. 
I mean, can you believe this? They were supposed to be looking into who actually shot her and why, but nope, they just changed the whole thing because of some pressure from aides. It's like they're trying to cover something up or something... 
And now six prosecutors are quitting over this?! That's huge! Something needs to change here... 
It sounds like a total witch hunt.
. I hope someone from within the Justice Department steps forward to explain what went down and why they made such a questionable decision. We deserve better than this 
What's really going on here is that the Justice Department is more concerned with protecting its own than actually seeking justice for Renee and her family.
The fact that six prosecutors have already quit over this issue just shows how toxic it has become.
. I mean, if they can't even figure out who shot Renee Good without looking for an alternate culprit, how's that gonna fix things? The whole thing reeks of politics over people 
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and I'm like totally mesmerized! The way it's pawing at the keys is so adorable! I wonder if cats have the same sense of rhythm as humans do... maybe they're just naturally good at improvisation? 
Anyway, back to this news story... it sounds super weird that the Justice Department was trying to investigate Renee Good for a crime she didn't even commit anymore 
. Like, what even is the point of a civil rights investigation if you're just gonna change the narrative mid-stream? It's like, we got a pregnant woman killed by an ICE officer and you're more concerned with who she might've been assaulting or something 
. The fact that an FBI supervisor had to quit because of it? That's a major red flag 
. We need some real accountability here 
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Not impressed with the way things are being handled by the Justice Department. They need to get back on track and focus on finding out what really happened that day.
it's not about politics or power, it's about justice for Renee Good 
I'm no expert but it seems like there should be more checks and balances in place to prevent something like this from happening again. 
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I mean, come on! The fact that the Justice Department altered the search warrant for her car to gather evidence about her vehicle's path was just crazy 
And now everyone's expecting more resignations from U.S. attorneys in Minnesota... this is getting out of hand 
How can you even justify doing that?! 