The attorney representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked the federal judge for permission to obtain three additional deposits from representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a motion filed Wednesday, lawyers for Abrego Garcia asked Maryland District Judge Paula Sini to order the government to designate individuals from the DHS, the State Department and DOJ. They cited federal regulations to prevent organizations from “banding,” saying it would thus be “the most efficient and out of the way approach to getting the necessary discoveries.”
“By allowing the government to identify its own Rule 30(b)(6) representatives, the plaintiffs are properly placed to avoid impose the burden of testifying to the department head and prepare representatives selected to the government with complete knowledge of the narrow issues that are in danger in this case,” they wrote.
They said that while the court has already approved four deposits, three of which have already been made, “the plaintiff is still in the darkness and on the government’s efforts to encourage Abrego Garcia to be released from custody and return to the United States.”
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This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said someone from the White House might ask him to testify.
“In fact, as it appears clearly from its official statement, this case includes decisions made at the White House in addition to three departments,” they wrote. “Therefore, depending on the testimony obtained in the deposits of the approved department, the plaintiff may need to seek additional testimony from a properly knowledgeable representative of the White House.”
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS, the State Department, DOJ and the White House for comment but did not immediately respond.
This movement is edited with a section with excerpts of the deposition already underway regarding Abrego Garcia’s position and custody status.
Kilmer Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer screams that she will speak at a press conference after returning from El Salvador at Dulles International Airport, Virginia on April 18, 2025. (Pete Key Heart of the Washington Post via Getty Images)
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In a two-page order on Wednesday, Sinis, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration is invoking “the privilege of state secrets” to avoid answering a judge’s questions about Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
The judge set a May 12 deadline for the parties to file a brief “to address the legal and de facto foundations for the invocation of these privileges,” and a May 16 court hearing on the issue of the Maryland Greenbelt.
Testifying before the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday, DHS Director Christa Noem said Abrego Garcia was a citizen of El Salvador and never returned to this country.
Paula Sinis hosts the deportation case of Kilmer Abrego Garcia. (US Senate Judiciary Committee)
“There’s no scenario where Abrego Garcia is in the US again,” Noem said. “If he comes back, he’s a terrorist and he’ll soon deport him again. He’s a human smuggler and he’s his wife Beater.”
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The secretary added that Abrego Garcia “is a dangerous individual who does not belong to this country, not a citizen.”
The Trump administration initially admitted that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, but since then it has doubled his suspicions of MS-13 membership and recorded abuse of his wife while living illegally in Maryland.
Daniel Wallace is a news and political reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and to X:@danimwallace.
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