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The Department of Justice filed a judicial misconduct complaint Wednesday against all but one Minnesota federal judge on active status, escalating a dispute over interviews concerning the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement cases in the state. Seven judges reportedly spoke with The New York Times, including two who allowed the newspaper to identify them.

The DOJ asked the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to require all seven judges to recuse themselves from any case involving the Department of Homeland Security. The appeals court handles cases arising from the District of Minnesota.

Federal officials also asked the 8th Circuit to investigate what the complaint described as “the judges’ improper and unethical conduct” in speaking with the newspaper. The filing argues that the interviews crossed ethical boundaries and compromised confidence in judicial impartiality.

The complaint focuses particularly on Senior Judge Patrick Schiltz and Senior Judge John Tunheim, both of whom were quoted by name. The Times published its article under the headline “Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns.”

Schiltz served as chief judge in the District of Minnesota until July 1. He had succeeded Tunheim in that position in 2022, placing both judges at the center of the district’s recent leadership.

On Jan. 28, Schiltz issued an order demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement stop violating orders from Minnesota federal judges. Those orders arose from cases connected to a surge in immigration enforcement actions across the state.

Schiltz told The Times that ICE’s violations of judicial orders “created a grave threat to the rule of law.” His public criticism became a key element of the misconduct complaint submitted by the Justice Department.

Tunheim was quoted after a paragraph reporting that the judges considered most of the detainees appearing in their cases to be “ordinary people with homes and jobs.” That description contrasted with claims from Department of Homeland Security officials that those detained were “the worst of the worst.”

“They weren’t arresting, in my view, people who were dangerous criminals on the street,” Tunheim said, according to The Times. The remaining judges who participated in the interviews spoke on the condition that the newspaper not identify them.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr. signed the complaint. Their filing directly accused the two named judges of violating the standards governing federal judicial conduct.

“Judge Schiltz and Judge Tunheim, at least, have flagrantly violated the Code of Judicial Conduct with their improper and unethical comments to the New York Times,” the complaint says. The government’s requested remedy would remove all seven participating judges from Department of Homeland Security cases.

Attorney General Todd Blanche also issued a statement criticizing the interviews. “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,” Blanche said. His statement framed the dispute as a matter of judicial ethics rather than simply a disagreement about immigration policy or enforcement practices.

The U.S. District Court in Minnesota defended the judges after CNBC sought comment from Schiltz and Tunheim. Court spokeswoman Rebeccah Parks said legal ethics specialists had determined that the judges remained within the rules governing federal judicial conduct.

“As legal-ethics experts have confirmed, our judges were acting well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to the New York Times,” Parks said. She maintained that the interviews concerned the rule of law and judicial independence, subjects federal judges may publicly address.

Parks cited an advisory opinion issued in February by the Committee on Codes of Conduct. She said that opinion emphasized the ability of federal judges to speak and write about core judicial matters, including advocacy for the rule of law and judicial independence.

“Our judges acted within this capacity,” Parks said. That defense places the district court squarely against the Justice Department’s contention that the interviews constituted improper public commentary about ongoing cases.

The 8th Circuit now faces requests both to investigate the conduct and to force recusals from Department of Homeland Security litigation. The complaint sets up a direct institutional clash over where judicial advocacy ends and prohibited commentary on pending cases begins.

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