Secret Trump court alarms legal experts fearful of ‘fast and loose’ terrorist designations

A pair of legal experts sounded the alarm over how the Trump administration plans to use a secret terrorist court.

During a recent podcast episode, former FBI counterterrorism agent Frank Figliuzzi and lawyer and former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa detailed how President Donald Trump and his administration could use the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which sat dormant for 30 years before a sudden activation earlier this month.

According to Rangappa, the court allows the Trump administration to deport noncitizens from the United States if it can convince a single judge that the defendant is a foreign terrorist. A defendant facing immediate removal would never see the evidence against them, as an attorney general would be able to argue that a person is a terrorist with classified evidence.

“This administration plays pretty fast and loose with who is considered a terrorist,” Rangappa said. “It’s also possible that it is some rando that was rounded up at Home Depot.”

Figliuzzi said that the “darkest possibility” would be, “We’ve got a left-wing accused terrorist, maybe from overseas, that is now before this court.”

The court held its first case earlier this week. The DOJ is seeking to deport a Texas mom through the court because her son and son-in-law were convicted of conspiring to launch an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, according to reporting by NBC News, which noted that the mom hasn’t been charged with a crime.

The two experts pointed to Stephen Miller as the likely Trump official who pitched activating the court, with Rangappa calling it “a Stephen Miller special.”

Figliuzzi said he sees elements of the Trump administration’s “inherent laziness” and “flexing of power,” adding, “Somebody tells them, ‘Hey, you got this court that’s never been used,’ and they go, shoot, let’s try it.”