Donald Trump scolded CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins for not smiling as she asked questions about Jeffrey Epstein during an Oval Office event. The president, who wanted to focus on promoting himself and his party, expressed frustration at her persistence in raising the Epstein matter.
The incident occurred as Democrats on Capitol Hill heard emotional testimony from families affected by violent encounters with federal agents involved in Trump's immigration crackdown. Luke and Brent Ganger, brothers of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three shot dead by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on 7 January, appealed for help and accountability.
Luke Ganger told the forum that the family's distress was compounded by the subsequent killing of protester Alex Pretti, also 37, by border patrol agents on 24 January. He said their initial hope that Renee's death would bring change had not been fulfilled.
Separately, a federal judge in Portland, Oregon issued a temporary restraining order barring federal officers from shooting or firing tear gas at nonviolent protesters and journalists outside an ICE facility. In Minnesota, a frustrated Department of Homeland Security lawyer told a judge that ICE officials refuse to follow her legal advice, saying 'the system sucks, this job sucks'.
Judge Jerry Blackwell, appointed by Joe Biden, questioned why five immigrants remained in custody weeks after he ordered their release. Another lawyer, Ana Voss, blamed the delay on a lack of training at the ICE field office. Voss is among eight lawyers who resigned from the Minnesota US attorney's office this week, part of a wave of departures during the immigration crackdown.
