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Comment by _def | Hacker News Reader

Why is that even needed, honestly? Like is "destroying or altering evidence" usually legitimate or what?

Deleting data according to a pre-defined schedule (often 90 days) is legitimate and standard. It's good that agencies do this, to limit exposure due to data breaches. And it's normal for courts to issue a preservation order for specific data relevant to a potential case.

It'd be better if the courts could actually deal with the case now instead of in 1-5 years, but alas.

> (often 90 days)

Not for government agencies. Data retention generally goes much longer than that, usually measured in years or decades, not days or weeks.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/poli... has a list of police body cam retention policies. 90 days is pretty common, though it ranges from 30 days to 5 years.

Documents are kept longer. But a court needs to think about the shortest possible retention time that any agency might have for any kind of evidence.

From your link's subheading:

> This chart includes categories for how long video is kept if it does not contain evidence of a crime [emphasis added]

So yes, some things are short (I did write "usually" for a reason), but even your link doesn't claim that video of a killing would be deleted in 90 days. It's evidence, 90 days would be ridiculously short for retaining evidence.

Even for people who don't think the ICE agents committed a crime, the ICE agents and DHS have claimed that this was the outcome from actions by a "domestic terrorist" which certainly makes it evidence of a crime from their own perspective.

The agencies in question are unlikely to face any accountability. The agencies that would typically investigate something like this are no longer independent and, instead, are headed by feckless Trump loyalists. It doesn't matter whether it's legitimate, it matters whether it serves their ends. If they cared about process or the law they wouldn't have been labeling the victim a domestic terrorist within minutes of ICE agents murdering him.

A future administration absolutely can and should prosecute every single ICE employee.

Dissolve it and DHS. Investigate every single ERO agent and prosecute those that meet the bar. Bar all of them from future public service. Prosecute agency heads.

They're all getting pardoned.

Federal pardons only work for federal charges, which murder isn't.

A future administration cold, but won't, choose to ignore the law about parsons just like this one is ignoring the law about murder and torture.

I believe they will try to use removal to get it into federal courts.

Does removal let a federal pardon apply to a state crime, even if it's tried in federal court?

Good question. I suppose Trump doesn't much care, he already attempted to pardon that lady who gave balloting material to Mike Pillow. He'll just go issue the pardons and let the courts sort it out.

Or he could have the DOJ charge all of ICE, get the cases removed to federal court, then do an Eric Adams job on them. That'd be a sight to behold.

Are pardons issued by a felon actually valid? It is for a future court to decide in a subsequent administration.

Unfortunately as long as that felon was elected president, yes.

The odds of that happening are zero.

Yes, but they might not stop the states from prosecuting them.

Sounds like federal government employees blocked access to the crime scene to state and local government employees. Presumably, this “order” is to help facilitate access without violence between federal and non federal government employees.

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