US Justice Department targets judge over Trump remarks – DW – 07/29/2025
The US Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint on Monday against Chief US District Judge James Boasberg, accusing him of making improper comments about US President Donald Trump.
The filing escalates a clash over the Trump administration's controversial deportations of Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
The complaint, announced by US Attorney General Pam Bondi on social media, accuses Boasberg of questioning whether the Trump administration would obey court rulings.
Boasberg allegedly made the comments during a closed-door meeting of the Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary's governing body.
Boasberg warned during the March meeting that the administration might trigger "a constitutional crisis" by ignoring court orders.
The Justice Department claims Boasberg's remarks — reported by conservative outlet The Federalist and allegedly made to Chief Justice John Roberts and other members of the judiciary body — undermined judicial impartiality and violated the judicial code of conduct.
The complaint follows Boasberg's decision on contempt charges against the Justice Department after the administration launched three deportation flights to El Salvador on March 15, despite an ongoing emergency court hearing on the legality of the action.
In an April ruling, Boasberg concluded the government had acted "in bad faith."
He also found "probable cause" to pursue contempt charges for violating his verbal order to halt the deportations.
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The DC Circuit Court later paused Boasberg's contempt finding, though it has yet to rule on whether to overturn it.
The Justice Department's complaint requests a formal investigation, reassignment of the deportations case, and possible disciplinary action — including a recommendation for impeachment if the allegations are substantiated.
The administration contends that Boasberg's order blocked deportations carried out under wartime authority granted by the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act, a hitherto rarely used law invoked by President Trump.
Boasberg has presided over a lawsuit brought by alleged Venezuelan gang members challenging their removal to the notorious Salvadoran prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
Earlier this month, more than 250 deported Venezuelans were quietly returned to their home country in a negotiated deal that also secured the release of 10 US citizens and permanent residents held in Venezuela.
Trump has personally called for Boasberg's impeachment — a move that drew an unusual public rebuke from the conservative Chief Justice Roberts, who defended judicial independence.
The complaint also claims Boasberg acted on his purported views by issuing the order to block the deportation flights.
Boasberg's chambers have declined to comment.
Boasberg, a former federal prosecutor, was first appointed by Republican President George W. Bush to the DC Superior Court in 2002 and later elevated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2011. He now serves as chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
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