Truth is a casualty of Hageman’s town halls

Safety was the reason Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman said she put the brakes on her town hall road show a month ago in favor of virtual events.

But when she returned in person in Buffalo last Thursday, the truth was the only thing that seemed to be in danger. Hageman, an attorney, was called out by members of the audience for telling an outrageous whopper about a deportation case, then doubling down on her false claims.

The incident demonstrated there’s nothing Hageman won’t do to defend President Donald Trump in his war against the federal judiciary and the rule of law. It also showed the political peril we’re in, when truth is continually distorted by the MAGA movement Hageman embraces.

Because of new rules that limited who could attend, Buffalo’s Bomber Mountain Civic Center was a much friendlier environment than Hageman experienced March 19 in Laramie, when many in the crowd of about 500 booed, cursed and heckled her.

Two hundred people with reservations to the Buffalo town hall signed up through Hageman’s office, according to Cowboy State Daily. No one could directly ask a question live, but queries were handwritten and placed in a box. 

The most contentious moment came after Hageman pulled out a question about whether she would pressure the Trump administration to do what the U.S. Supreme Court said it must: return a wrongfully deported Maryland man to the U.S.

The high court unanimously ruled Abrego Garcia should get the hearing he was denied before federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers sent him to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

Many in the crowd erupted in protest when Hageman bluntly said no. They asked why there was no due process in Garcia’s case.

The administration initially admitted to a lower court that Garcia’s deportation was due to an “administrative error.” An immigration judge ruled in October 2019 that Garcia, who had entered the country illegally as a teen, had “a well-founded fear” of persecution by a gang in El Salvador that had been extorting his family for years. The judge granted Garcia protection from being deported.

“First of all, [Garcia] was given due process,” Hageman said, which was met by shouts of “no.” She continued: “He went in front of two different immigration judges [who] ruled that he was a member of [the gang] MS-13. That’s due process.” 

But she inaccurately stated what happened. Garcia was detained by police after they saw him and three other men allegedly “loitering” outside a Home Depot store. Because of his clothing, tattoos and a confidential informant’s claim he was a MS-13 member, Garcia was taken into custody in 2019 by ICE.

The judges Hageman referred to both denied Garcia bail, because of the gang allegations, which remain unproven. He’s never been charged with a crime, despite Trump’s sensational claims he’s a convicted human trafficker and wife-beater. After a third judge ordered that Garcia not be deported, ICE did not appeal and he returned to his wife, a U.S. citizen, and their three children.

Hageman jumped headfirst into the rabbit hole dug by Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who contend the Supreme Court didn’t order Garcia’s return.

“In fact, they reversed the district court and said [it] used the word ‘facilitate’ [his return],” Hageman argued. “I have never heard of a writ of facilitation, but oh well.”

In fact, the high court used the word when it unanimously found the lower court’s order “properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”

After trying to make her phony case that Garcia did receive due process, a  term the lawyer of course understands, Hageman’s next words were truly stunning.

“And as far as due process, I’m not sure what you are talking about or what you mean by due process,” she said, with a straight face. This wasn’t a case of legal amnesia, but an example of what earned Hageman such 

a hostile response in Laramie by taunting and dismissing her critics.

“Are you kidding me?” a woman yelled over the noise of the crowd.

Hageman stumbled. “Yes, no I’m not,” she said.

“You’re a lawyer!” the woman said.

“Yes, I am. Due process is notice and an opportunity to be heard, and he was given notice and an opportunity to be heard,” Hageman said.

No. After being given a temporary visa and work permit, Garcia spent five years in a construction apprenticeship program before being pulled over by ICE officers in Baltimore last month. He was told his immigration status had changed, and was then arrested and transferred to jails in three states before being flown with other deportees to CECOT prison in El Salvador. Like many inmates he was held in brutal conditions, never given a hearing, and believed he’d be held indefinitely.

Trump wants to keep it that way, and judging by Hageman’s responses in Buffalo, she’s perfectly OK with that. To her it’s justice.

But due process of law is much more than Hageman’s simplistic definition at her town hall. It’s a fundamental principle in the legal system that ensures fairness and justice. It serves as a safeguard against arbitrary denial of life, liberty or property by requiring adherence to established legal procedures. 

This concept is crucial for upholding individual rights and maintaining public confidence in the judicial process. Thanks in large part to Hageman and U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, who support Trump’s continued defiance of the federal judiciary, confidence in the legal process is very low in Wyoming these days.

More than 100 Wyoming jurists warned the delegation in a March 26 letter that Trump and his allies’ threats could erode the country’s rule of law.

These distinguished members of the Wyoming Bar — including a former governor and three ex-Wyoming Supreme Court justices — were insultingly called “biased, misguided” and “liberal” by Barrasso, Lummis and Hageman in a press release. The delegation said federal judges are the problem, not the president.

But as more news about Garcia’s shameful treatment comes out, it shines a bright light on Hageman’s cruel defense of Trump’s refusal to bring him home. The U.S. is paying El Salvador $6 million to keep more than 230 alleged gang members, including Garcia, who was recently transferred to a lower security prison because of his high profile.

It’s a nasty game Trump is playing in cahoots with El Salvador’s dictator, Nayib Bukele, over Garcia’s fate. Using a ridiculously narrow definition of “facilitate,” AG Bondi said, “We would facilitate [his release], meaning provide a plane.”

But Bukele vows to hold Garcia in prison forever, and Trump says he’s a terrorist who will never again set foot on American soil.  

On Friday, however, The Atlantic broke the story that U.S. officials were actively trying to bring Garcia home before their plans were blocked by Trump, who suddenly saw Garcia’s plight as a major political win in his fight with the courts over his deportation agenda.

The State Department puzzled over the sketchy evidence tying Garcia to a gang. Officials worried about his safety in prison where he could be targeted for attack. All of these concerns are valid.

Hageman didn’t need to throw Garcia, who has endured suffering for weeks and had his rights violated at Trump’s hands, under the bus. But it was red meat for her base, which can never get enough stories about how this president is supposedly leading the fight against crime.

But the truth matters, and so does the rule of law. How can we protect both when officials like Hageman turn a blind eye to justice?

Keep asking her hard questions at town halls and then vote her out of office.