6 Quit DOJ Over Push to Investigate Victim's Widow

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Joseph H. Thompson, a career federal prosecutor who was the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota last year, was among those who resigned as the Justice Department sought to examine the woman's supposed ties to activist groups.

Posted by retort at 04:10 PM | 31 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Joseph H. Thompson, the second in command at the U.S. attorney's office and oversaw the fraud investigation in Minnesota, joined his colleagues in quitting over the Justice Department's push to investigate Renee Good's widow and its reluctance to investigate Ross. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u ... [image or embed]
-- Eric Michael Garcia (@ericmgarcia.bsky.social) Jan 13, 2026 at 1:13 PM

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The White House lied to the American people when they called her a terrorist and paid agitator. They have zero evidence to support such claims.

#1 | Posted by johnny_hotsauce at 2026-01-13 04:16 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

You could have stopped at "The White House lied." Everything that came from Trump and Nobrains was a lie meant to agitate right wingers. It was an execution by an unstable and fearful thug. I am sure she was dancing on the edge of legal activities to disrupt them however there was no reasonable cause to execute her.

#2 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2026-01-13 04:28 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

The few Heroes left in the Gov are being forced out for speaking their concience and being more loyal to truth, justice, and the American Constitution than they are to the Traitor in Chief.

#3 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-13 04:32 PM | Reply

Mmmm, that's good Secret Police!
--Republicans

#4 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-13 04:38 PM | Reply

There is reason to believe this is a criminal civil case, in that Good turned her wheel away as she pulled forward, showing she had no intention of running over Ross but turned to avoid him.

They are being blocked by the administration who has a predetermined outcome they want to see, that Good was a domestic terrorist.

No wonder no one any longer believes what comes from the administration as anything other than lies.

#5 | Posted by BBQ at 2026-01-13 04:38 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

#5 Around here we abide by The Donnerboy rule:

I need two (2) independent sources** from any Trump sycophant for any 'proof' they offer before it is even considered, much less replied to.

**Any source that contains "Trump's FBI said...", or "The DOJ announced..." or "The White House proclaimed..." - or any iteration thereof - will immediately be considered not an independent source. - Try again.

#6 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-01-13 04:44 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Trump and his goons are behaving more reflexively nasty more quickly.

They are bound to teach us all what they think is a very important lesson, and are winding up to do something bad, worse than we've seen so far.

#7 | Posted by Zed at 2026-01-13 04:58 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Remember when MAGAts were all up in arms over non-existent "lawfare?" Accusing others of "lawfare" for indicting Trump?

Which it wasn't.

This is actual lawfare. Just when they stooped to "investigating" Fed Chairman Powell - who is respected by his peers and around the world - they're also now using the DOJ to intimidate the widow of someone they killed, who posed no threat (2 point blank shots in her head through the window as she passed)? This is a pattern now. Comey and James cases were thrown out after Trump's Attorney General fired the Asst U.S. Attorney who wouldn't prosecute because there was no evidence of wrongdoing?

How low can they go? Using the DOJ to intimidate innocent individuals is the textbook definition of "lawfare."

Intimidating opponents is what fascist countries do.

#8 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2026-01-13 05:06 PM | Reply

Since so many here bash NRO, I will provide a link and a quick summary of what one of their writers says about this:

"Another Self-Destructive Decision by the Trump DOJ

I was wondering if we might see a push from the Stephen Miller faction in the Trump administration to take the Minneapolis ICE shooting one step further and criminally charge Renee Nicole Good's wife for inciting the shooting. That would be the classic Miller move, and one that goes a step further than the typical Trump DOJ pattern of lawfare against personal and policy enemies of the president. There's more than a fig leaf of justification for such charges, as the wife seems to have gotten Good involved in ICE Watch as well as yelling "Drive, baby, drive" just before Good made the fatal decision to hit the accelerator; but it would nonetheless be a terrible idea to charge her unless there is some very significant new evidence we haven't seen yet. Most prosecutors would classify her as having suffered enough for bad judgment."

#9 | Posted by BellRinger at 2026-01-13 05:13 PM | Reply

MAGA is tyranny.

#10 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2026-01-13 05:14 PM | Reply

bad judgment = blame the victim

#11 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-01-13 05:18 PM | Reply

#9 Flag: Boot Polish Sales Surge Over Weekend

#12 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-01-13 05:22 PM | Reply

leave it to Bellringer to blame the victim AND the victim's spouse.
Tell me again, exactly how and to what extent that masked secret policeman was injured?

#13 | Posted by e1g1 at 2026-01-13 05:22 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 3

"exactly how and to what extent that masked secret policeman was injured?"

I think somebody threw a Subway sandwich at him.

But...it was double meat...so...you know, potentially lethal.

#14 | Posted by Danforth at 2026-01-13 05:26 PM | Reply | Funny: 3

" leave it to Bellringer to blame the victim AND the victim's spouse.
Tell me again, exactly how and to what extent that masked secret policeman was injured?

#13 | POSTED BY E1G1 AT 2026-01-13 05:22 PM | FLAG: "

Your reading comprehension is terrible. What about this do you not understand:

Another Self-Destructive Decision by the Trump DOJ

#15 | Posted by BellRinger at 2026-01-13 05:27 PM | Reply

"Most prosecutors would classify her as having suffered enough for bad judgment."

Just not the ones currently enabled.

#16 | Posted by Danforth at 2026-01-13 05:28 PM | Reply

Hasn't she suffered enough already, after getting her wife acked?

#17 | Posted by john_savage1 at 2026-01-13 05:35 PM | Reply

what one of their writers says about this:
#9 | Posted by BellRinger

How about the part where you say it's Lawfare? What we really need is a link to that.

#18 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-13 05:44 PM | Reply

"Immigration Agents Terrified of ICE Backlash After Shooting
Leaked documents show Border Patrol needs volunteers for Minneapolis surge

A Border Patrol agent familiar with the discussions said the volunteer push reflects real unease in the ranks about the Good shooting in Minneapolis and the related surge.

"We do have personnel but some just don't want to go," the agent told me.

Asked about the hunt for volunteers, DHS and Customs and Border Protection did not respond to my request for comment.

"There might be some immature knuckleheads who think they are out there trying to capture Nicolas Maduro, but most field officers see a clear need for deescalation," a high level career official at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington also told me.

"There is genuine fear that indeed ICE's heavy handedness and the rhetoric from Washington is more creating a condition where the officers' lives are in danger rather than the other way around."

Within hours of the shooting, Noem held a press conference declaring Renee Good had carried out "an act of domestic terrorism" when she "attempted to run a law enforcement officer over," as Noem put it.

"There is a video and she just lied," the Border Patrol agent said of Noem's characterization of the incident.

more at the link

www.kenklippenstein.com

#19 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-13 05:44 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Those Epstein files must be off the hook.

#20 | Posted by chuffy at 2026-01-13 05:53 PM | Reply

"but most field officers see a clear need for deescalation,"

Boo hoo.
Their orders are not to de-escalate.
This is a bit like cops having to do marijuana busts on college kids. Most cops don't really see the point in that.

In this case, it's cops working under a policy where they are required to use as much violence as legally permissible when making an arrest on a civilian who is not resisting in any manner whatsoever.

This is Trump's policy of "get rough with them" in action, playing out before our very eyes, channeled into marching orders for ICE and DOJ.

I wonder if any Republicans can see it that way. Like having the SecDef personally intervene in Sen. Kelly's retirement because he was critical of the administration. Can Republicans connect that action to Trump promising to get rough with protesters? Are their brains that big?

#21 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-13 05:54 PM | Reply

Those Epstein files must be off the hook.

#20 | Posted by chuffy at 2026-01-13 05:53 PM | Reply

I'm betting snuff films at this point.

Trump is totally out of control.

#22 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2026-01-13 06:04 PM | Reply

"Trump is totally out of control."

In more ways than one.

What was up with him looking out the window...
Anyone wanna check the side effects of that new dementia med he's taking?
Maybe some heavy steroids too, like when he had COVID.

And didn't Billy Graham's Satan Spawn or one of his other minions just put out a call for prayer for Trump's health?
Because that's not some camel fucker energy right there. Praise to Allah to keep the Trump alive!

#23 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-01-13 06:09 PM | Reply

ICE Now So Hated Even Their Own Agents Are Terrified

www.thedailybeast.com

#24 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-13 06:10 PM | Reply

What was up with him looking out the window...

GET OFF MY LAWN

#25 | Posted by john_savage1 at 2026-01-13 06:13 PM | Reply

"Agents fear the public revulsion toward the heavy-handed approach of ICE under President Donald Trump, and the administration's efforts to cover its own tracks as it did in the wake of Good's shooting, is already causing problems securing criminal convictions.

One former agent told the Daily Beast that he and his colleagues fear it has become more common for juries not to believe evidence they are presenting to the court."

above link

#26 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-13 06:16 PM | Reply

ICE should be afraid. We're armed.

#27 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2026-01-13 06:22 PM | Reply

Very interesting post on why Trump's upset Bondi isn't committing even MORE "lawfare" against his perceived enemies:

Is Trump turning on his own attorney general?

... Never shy about airing grievances with his Cabinet, Trump has grown particularly vocal about Bondi.

That tension is notable given how closely Bondi has aligned herself with Trump. Since taking office, she has fired prosecutors involved in past investigations of him and has become a familiar defender on Fox News.

Even so, allies say it still hasn't been enough to satisfy Trump.

This month alone, people familiar with the matter told the Journal, Trump has floated the idea of appointing special counsels to bypass what he sees as a sluggish DOJ. His chief complaint is Bondi's failure to quickly and decisively prosecute figures he views as political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

www.dailykos.com

#28 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2026-01-13 06:30 PM | Reply

Those Epstein files must be off the hook.

#20 | Posted by chuffy

Only delayed.

The public wave building against Trump & his MAGA minions for a plethora of things - from ICE to Medicaid cuts to farmers upset about sky high fertilizer/equipment costs and lower crop prices thanks to tariffs - is building into a tsunami that'll crush the Trump administration.

#29 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2026-01-13 06:37 PM | Reply

What about this do you not understand:

Another Self-Destructive Decision by the Trump DOJ

The part where you plagiarized the National Review and why you did not give them credit for their thoughts.

www.nationalreview.com

Let me fix it for you.

Most prosecutors would classify her as having suffered enough for bad judgment of the Trump Administration.

And unfortunately it has to get worse before it gets better.

Enjoy the Great American FAFO.

#30 | Posted by donnerboy at 2026-01-13 06:41 PM | Reply

He caught a train from Alexandria, just a broken man in flight
Runnin' scared with his devils, sayin' prayers all through the night
Oh but mercy can't find him, not in the shadows where he calls
Forsakin' all his better angels: that's how every empire falls

genius.com

so good, John Prine covered it:

www.youtube.com

#31 | Posted by Corky at 2026-01-13 06:41 PM | Reply