Overview
- The Nashville hearing features sworn testimony from three government witnesses, including prosecutor Robert McGuire, on why two human‑trafficking counts were brought against Kilmar Ábrego García.
- Homeland Security Investigations official Rana Saoud testified the case “kept getting stronger,” saying she opened the probe in 2025 after a media report and was not pressured by superiors.
- Judge Waverly Crenshaw has shifted the burden to the government after finding evidence suggesting the charges could be retaliatory, citing internal DOJ communications and public statements.
- Court filings reference contacts involving Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and DOJ official Aakash Singh, which the judge said may link immigration litigation outcomes to the decision to pursue charges.
- The indictment follows a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop with nine passengers and a federal inquiry that was initially closed; Ábrego García was deported to El Salvador before the Supreme Court ordered his return and he pleaded not guilty upon being charged.