The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday asked District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, to maintain his court’s seal on a September letter from Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire to the criminal defense attorneys representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, as prosecutors said it holds information about cooperating witnesses whose identities are protected.
McGuire’s submission to the court on Thursday said the DOJ would not object to the release of the body-worn camera video from the November 30, 2022 traffic stop stop of Abrego Garcia by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), nor would it object to the unsealing of a March report by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) about Abrego Garcia, but did assert that the September letter should remain sealed.
Arguing the letter should be sealed because, “it detailed out what reports relate to which cooperating defendant,” McGuire noted that even though, “potential witnesses are listed as ‘CC’ and not their real name, the Government submits that, given the concerns for witness safety and security that prompted the Court to enter a protective order in the first place, Exhibit J should be sealed.”
The DOJ submitted the filing after Crenshaw ordered the government to give its stance on the sealing of multiple exhibits submitted by Abrego Garcia’s lawyers in their bid to strike evidence from the November 2022 traffic stop, which was reported by The Tennessee Star in April.
Sean Hecker, the New York-based defense attorney representing Abrego Garcia, reportedly argued that it was unclear whether THP had sufficient cause to stop Abrego Garcia, and whether the traffic stop presented sufficient cause to question the alleged human smuggler about his origin and destination.
Crenshaw signed a protective order in June which mandated that personally identifying information about witnesses would remain under the court’s seal, including filings which contain, “a description of where they live, their relationship to other witnesses, or other specific characteristics of that individual that could allow a reader to readily identify that individual.”
The complete list of witnesses are not disclosed as a result of this order, but it has been reported Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, the owner of the vehicle driven by Abrego Garcia in November 2022, received “limited immunity” in exchange for his cooperation with prosecutors.
In another filing, it was revealed that a witness claimed Abrego Garcia used the social media service, Snapchat, to proposition her for sexual images when she was still a minor.
A spokesman for THP told The Star in April that troopers were instructed to release Abrego Garcia by the “Biden-era FBI,” despite a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document showing they suspected human trafficking during the stop.
Returned to the United States from El Salvador in June, after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment alleging he participated in a human smuggling ring for nearly a decade, Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty. His case is scheduled to reach trial in January 2026.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].Â
