Sen. Chris Van Hollen repeatedly sidesteps whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia was MS-13 gangbanger when asked on CNN

Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Sunday repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gangbanger as the Trump administration has alleged.

Van Hollen (D-Md.), who met with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador on Thursday, accused President Trump of trying to change the subject on due process concerns, while he himself attempted to shift the discussion from MS-13.

“What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject,” Van Hollen told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday when asked about Abrego Garcia’s alleged MS-13 ties. “The subject at hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights.”

“They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts.”

Abrego Garcia, who illegally entered the US in 2011, was deported last month to his home country of El Salvador last month despite a 2019 court order blocking his deportation there due to concerns that he could face gang violence.

Van Hollen has previously accused the Trump administration of lying about Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to MS-13.

The Trump administration alleges that Abrego Garcia was discovered having “rolls of cash and drugs” when he was detained and that he had been “arrested with two other members of MS-13.”