Judge’s rejection of Don Lemon charges faces conflict of interest concerns

A Minnesota federal magistrate judge’s refusal to approve criminal charges against former CNN broadcaster Don Lemon has drawn scrutiny amid questions about the judge’s potential conflict of interest, as the Justice Department says it will continue pursuing the people who targeted a Christian church in St. Paul “to the ends of the Earth.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko declined this week to sign off on a criminal complaint sought by federal prosecutors against Lemon in connection with a protest that disrupted a Sunday worship service at a St. Paul church. The decision to reject charges is rare in federal criminal practice, where magistrate judges almost always approve arrest warrants and complaints given the low evidentiary bar at the probable-cause stage.

Micko’s decision quickly drew attention after Fox News’s Bill Melugin