DOJ told Trump his name appeared in Epstein files, WSJ reports
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New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
DOJ files misconduct complaint against Judge James Boasberg over ‘improper' comments about Trump: ‘Undermined the integrity of the judiciary'
The Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint against District Judge James Boasberg on Monday, demanding that the jurist be reassigned from a migrant deportation case over 'improper' remarks he allegedly made about President Trump. 'Today at my direction, [DOJ] filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration,' Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, is presiding over a case involving Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport suspected criminal migrants. Bloomberg via Getty Images Advertisement The complaint, written by Bondi's chief of staff Chad Mizelle and sent to the Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Sri Srinivasan, refers to comments Boasberg allegedly made during a March 11 judicial conference attended by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and other jurists. 'While there, Judge Boasberg attempted to improperly influence Chief Justice Roberts and roughly two dozen other federal judges by straying from the traditional topics to express his belief that the Trump Administration would 'disregard rulings of federal courts' and trigger 'a constitutional crisis,'' Mizelle wrote, according to Fox News. 'Although his comments would be inappropriate even if they had some basis, they were even worse because Judge Boasberg had no basis — the Trump Administration has always complied with all court orders,' Mizelle continued. 'Nor did Judge Boasberg identify any purported violations of court orders to justify his unprecedented predictions.' Advertisement Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, allegedly made the remark just days before he presided over a case involving Trump's use of the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport suspected migrant gang members to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Boasberg, 62, maintains the Trump administration violated his March 15 order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador. Mizelle referenced Boasberg's deportation flight order that has since been overturned by the Supreme Court and argued that 'Within days of those statements, Judge Boasberg began acting on his preconceived belief that the Trump Administration would not follow court orders.' 'Taken together, Judge Boasberg's words and deeds violate Canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, and, erode public confidence in judicial neutrality, and warrant a formal investigation,' he wrote, asking that Boasberg be removed from the Alien Enemies Act case 'to prevent further erosion of public confidence while the investigation proceeds.' Advertisement Trump has argued that Boasberg should be impeached. REUTERS Bondi argued that Boasberg's alleged comments 'have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that.' Trump has previously slammed Boasberg as a 'Grandstander' and 'highly conflicted,' 'radical left' judge who is attempting to 'usurp' his presidential power. Advertisement 'This judge … should be IMPEACHED!!!' the president fumed in March 18 Truth Social post. A DC district court spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
DOJ files misconduct complaint against federal judge
The Department of Justice filed a misconduct complaint against federal Judge James Boasberg"for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration," Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday. The big picture: The D.C.-based U.S. District Court chief judge has previously angered the Trump administration with his rulings on deportations. Boasberg has been the target of an impeachment effort by Trump and House Republicans after the George W. Bush-appointed judge questioned the administration's decision to disregard an order against the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans. Driving the news: Bondi said on X that she had directed the DOJ to take the action because the judge's comments "have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that." Representatives for the DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on what the complaint specifically refers to and Boasberg's chambers did not immediately respond to Axios' Monday night phone message seeking comment on the matter. Catch up quick: Boasberg raised the ire of the administration in March when he ordered that flights deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members should turn around. The White House said it ignored the judge's order because it was issued after the flights had already departed and left U.S. jurisdiction. The Trump administration defended its decision to follow through with the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century war time law. The president said Boasberg "should be IMPEACHED" over the matter — prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare statement saying that impeaching a federal judge is "not an appropriate response" to disagreeing with a ruling. Meanwhile, Boasberg said in April that he found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt for defying his order.
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Trump says he's 'allowed' to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell and he never went to Epstein's island
President Donald Trump said that while he is 'allowed' pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, a key associate of Jeffrey Epstein who's serving a 20-year sentence on sexual abuse charges, no one has asked him about it, and it would be 'inappropriate' to discuss it. Trump made the remarks, which appear to be some of his most extensive to date on Maxwell, during questioning by reporters on July 28 at his Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland while meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A reporter asked Trump whether he would 'ever consider' a pardon for Maxwell, who met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for two days last week to answer questions about Epstein. Critics have said the meetings with Blanche, Trump's former personal defense lawyer, were part of a White House effort to quell the backlash over the administration's handling of thousands of Epstein-related files in its possession. 'Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it,' Trump said. 'It's in the news about that, that aspect of it, but right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.' Trump on July 28 also hit back at a question about whether his attorney general, Pam Bondi, has told him his name is mentioned in the federal government's Epstein files, as the Wall Street Journal reported last week. 'I haven't been overly interested in it,' Trump said. 'It's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion.' Trump then suggested without evidence that former President Joe Biden, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Merrick Garland could have put fake and incriminating material about him into the files. 'I can say this. Those files were run by the worst scum on Earth. They were run by Comey, they were run by Garland, they were run by Biden and all of the people that actually ran the government, including the autopen' during the Biden administration, Trump said. 'Those files were run for four years by those people. If they had anything (on Trump), I assume they would have released it.' The president dismissed another Wall Street Journal report that said he drew a picture of a nude woman decades ago as part of a lewd birthday letter for Epstein when they were close friends. It was part of a book compiled by Maxwell that included contributions from other high-profile people including former President Bill Clinton, the Journal reported. 'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down' Trump in Scotland also categorically denied that he'd ever been to Epstein's Caribbean island where sex trafficking of young girls allegedly occurred. 'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump said. 'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.' Trump also offered an explanation for why he broke off his friendship with Epstein after the two were close friends for many years. 'I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein because he did something that was inappropriate. … He stole people that worked for me. I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He did it again, and I threw him out of the place,' Trump said, in reference to his Mar-a-Lago club and residence. 'Persona non grata,' Trump added. 'We haven't spoken to the president,' Maxwell's lawyer says Trump's comments three days after Maxwell's lawyer said July 25 that he is hoping Trump pardons the former British socialite for sex trafficking crimes she was convicted of in connection with the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on related charges. David Markus spoke to reporters after his client's second day of interviews with Blanche in Tallahassee, Florida, near where Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for trafficking a minor to Epstein for sexual abuse. Asked about Trump's comments earlier in the day about a potential pardon, Markus told reporters, "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet.' But, Markus said, 'The president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." When Trump was asked last week if he had already considered pardoning Maxwell, he said no. "I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about," Trump told reporters. "I certainly can't talk about pardons now." Maxwell's meetings with Blanche, the No. 2 official in the Justice Department, came amid calls from the public and a bipartisan group of lawmakers for DOJ to release more information it has in its possession about Epstein's clients. The public outcry was prompted by announcements by the Justice Department and FBI earlier this month that they won't be releasing their Epstein-related files, despite promising to do so. Pressure has mounted since then for the administration to reconsider, including from members of Trump's own base who were bitterly disappointed by the announcement. That was especially the case after the Wall Street Journal report that Bondi notified Trump in May that his name had appeared 'multiple times' in the files. The president sued the newspaper for defamation for reporting that he wrote the birthday message for Epstein.
