Remember When JD Vance Lied About Absolute Immunity?
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
I’ve been holding onto this one for a while now. Every few months I pull it back out, dust it off, and repost it — because this is exactly the kind of statement that the news cycle is designed to bury, and exactly the kind of statement that should never be allowed to fade away.
I started recording and archiving Vance’s words on this the day he said them, and I’ve kept updating this post on a rolling basis ever since, so that anyone who wants to verify the receipts can.
Well, it’s that time again. Here’s the post.
---
The ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026 was Jonathan Ross, a 10-year ICE veteran (Star Tribune; CNN).
The day after the shooting — Thursday, January 8, 2026 — Vice President JD Vance stepped up to the White House briefing room podium and said this:
The Quote:
“The precedent here is very simple. You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action. That’s a federal issue. That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job.”
He went further, adding that any state prosecution “would be thrown out by a judge” (CNN).
That is the Vice President of the United States, on camera, telling the country that a federal officer who kills a civilian on American soil is untouchable. Read it again. Let it sink in.
The link below will provide post of many of videos surrounding the two citizen deaths by ICE agents during that time.
You can watch the contradiction back-to-back (YouTube, Jan 23, 2026). He said exactly what he said. The tape doesn’t lie just because he wishes it would.
Why It Was Wrong — On the Law
Northern Kentucky University constitutional law professor Michael J.Z. Mannheimer told CNN bluntly: “The idea that a federal officer has absolute immunity for crimes committed in the course of his duties is ridiculous on its face.” Over a century of Supremacy Clause immunity precedent allows state prosecutors to bring criminal charges against federal officers for acts committed in the line of duty — it’s the courts that decide whether immunity applies, not the Vice President at a podium (CNN).
The legal standard for federal officers is qualified immunity — and it applies to civil suits, not criminal ones. Vance either didn’t know the difference, or he did and said it anyway. Neither option is comforting.
Why I Keep Reposting This
Because the Vice President of the United States stood at the White House podium and told the American public that federal agents can kill citizens with impunity — and most people have already forgotten. The walk-back got a fraction of the coverage the original statement got.
And the next time something like this happens, the same officials will count on the fact that we’ve forgotten. I haven’t forgotten. And as long as I’m running this blog, neither will the archive.
10 News Stories That Captured It
1. CNN — “Do ICE agents have absolute immunity? No, experts say…” — Carries the full quote and rebuttals from constitutional law scholars (CNN, Jan 8, 2026).
2. CNN — “How the fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting unfolded” — Narrative reconstruction naming Jonathan Ross and citing Vance’s defense (CNN, Jan 10, 2026).
3. CNN Video — “Mayor slams Vance’s defense of ICE officer” — Mayor Jacob Frey responds to the “absolute immunity” claim (CNN, Jan 9, 2026).
4. CBS News — “What is ‘absolute immunity,’ after JD Vance defended ICE…” — Legal contributor Jessica Levinson breaks down the quote (CBS News).
5. CBS News — “JD Vance says ICE officer who shot woman in Minneapolis…” — Plays the quote in full from the White House briefing (CBS News).
6. PBS NewsHour — “Vance blames victim of fatal ICE shooting at White House briefing” — Coverage of the same Jan 8 briefing (PBS).
7. HuffPost / Yahoo News — “Is This What JD Vance Meant By ‘Absolute Immunity’?” — Quotes Vance saying Ross is “protected by absolute immunity” (HuffPost via Yahoo, Jan 24, 2026).
8. 10 News — “Vice President JD Vance Blames Victim Of Fatal ICE Shooting In Minneapolis” — Includes the “absolute immunity” line and the “lunatic fringe” remark (10 News, Jan 9, 2026).
9. YouTube News Clip — “Vance calls Renee Good a ‘deranged leftist,’ says ICE…” — Quote plus Vance’s social media remarks (YouTube).
10. Vera Institute of Justice — “The ICE Killing of Renee Nicole Good is a Watershed Moment for Trump” — Policy analysis quoting Vance’s statement (Vera Institute, Jan 21, 2026).
Comments