.jpg%2F500px-Prime_Minister_Andy_Burnham_portrait_(cropped).jpg%3Futm_source%3Dcs.wikipedia.org%26utm_campaign%3Dparser%26utm_content%3Dthumbnail&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3c71ed6002ac6e63648b6562a2aa39e7be3c5e2b0d5c8bd5146b59550735b0b4&ipo=images)
All but one of Minnesota’s U.S. district justices received a judicial misconduct complaint from the Department of Justice. AG Todd Blanche filed the complaints after the justices allegedly violated ethical standards by talking about ongoing immigration cases with the press.
Blanche declared, “Seven federal judges in the District of Minnesota talked to the New York Times about cases, some of which are on-going, in a manner that the Department of Justice views as a clear violation of their ethical duties. Their conduct has undermined public confidence in an impartial judiciary in Minnesota.”
AG Todd Blanche Files Judicial Misconduct Complaint Against Virtually the Entire Bench in Minnesota– townhall.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
Attorney General Todd Blanche put Minnesota’s federal bench on notice yesterday by filing formal complaints of judicial misconduct against several judges for speaking to the press about “last winter’s tumult.” Only one district judge wasn’t cited in the filing. Speaking to the media about immigration cases is not permitted (via DOJ):
🚨 BREAKING: The DOJ just filed a judicial misconduct complaint against all but ONE federal district judge in Minnesota.
Todd Blanche says the judges spoke to The New York Times (@nytimes) about ongoing immigration cases, which he calls “a clear violation of their ethical… pic.twitter.com/fcRzOUJnKd
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 30, 2026
The Department of Justice filed a complaint of judicial misconduct against Hon. Patrick J. Schiltz, Hon. John R. Tunheim, and Anonymous District Judges at the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
On September 17, 2026, the paper published an article titled Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns. The article explains that Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota sat for a 90-minute interview. Six other “members of Minnesota’s federal bench” also “agreed to speak to the New York Times about last winter’s tumult.” This included “six of the seven judges who held active status in Minnesota last winter.”
