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Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg's DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
Federal Judge James Boasberg is facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies as he presides over multiple high-profile lawsuits targeting the Trump administration – cases that have now brought the judge's personal and professional ties under fresh scrutiny. Boasberg, who was previously appointed to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and reportedly once roomed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at Yale, has become a flashpoint for conservatives who accuse the judiciary of bias against the Trump administration. Now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Boasberg's recent orders halting deportations of violent illegal immigrants and overseeing cases tied to leaked internal communications have amplified claims of partisanship and drawn fierce rebukes from Trump and his allies. "The Chief Justice handpicked DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg to serve on the FISA court," said Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project. "The DC federal judges are in a cozy little club, and they protect their own." His comments echo a broader sentiment on the right that Boasberg's judicial decisions – and his close ties within the legal establishment – reflect a partisan tilt against the president. Boasberg, a Washington, D.C., native, earned an advanced degree in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and later attended Yale Law School, where he lived with Kavanaugh, according to multiple reports. Trump Unloads On Judge Boasberg, 'Radical Left Judges' For Halting Deportations Of Violent Illegal Aliens He graduated in 1990 and clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco as a litigation associate from 1991 to 1994. He later worked at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996. Read On The Fox News App After serving in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Boasberg was appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the local trial court for the District. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where he was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission on March 17, 2011. Boasberg was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The FISA Court is made up of 11 federal judges, all of whom are hand-selected by the chief justice. After undergoing rigorous background checks, FISA Court judges are then responsible for approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants submitted by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of the court's work remains classified. Boasberg served as the court's presiding judge from 2020 to 2021 before returning to the D.C. District Court. After Boasberg on March 15 ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under a 1798 wartime authority, Trump took to Truth Social to call for his impeachment. The president's remarks echoed a growing chorus of conservatives who have recently called for the impeachment of federal judges overseeing his administration's legal battles. Judge In Crosshairs Of Trump Deportation Case Orders Preservation Of Signal Messages "I'm just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges' I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON'T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump wrote in the post. In an unprecedented move by the nation's high court, Roberts released a public statement shortly thereafter, denouncing impeachment as an appropriate response to judicial disagreements. "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," he said in the statement released in mid-March. Trump once again unloaded on Boasberg in a March 30 Truth Social post after the judge extended his restraining order on March 28. The extension will run through April 12. "People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country," Trump wrote on the social media platform. Who Is James Boasberg, The Us Judge At The Center Of Trump's Deportation Efforts? "The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers. If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn't be allowed to do his job, and people's lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!," he continued. Boasberg came under additional fire after he was randomly assigned to preside over a lawsuit involving the Trump administration's leaked Signal chat. After Boasberg was assigned to the case, Trump again took to Truth Social and accused Boasberg of "grabbing the 'Trump Cases' all to himself." Davis also took to social media, writing, "Judge Jeb Boasberg is lighting on fire his legitimacy over an unnecessary, lawless, and dangerous pissing match with the President Jeb will lose. "Let's hope the Chief Justice doesn't light the entire federal judiciary's legitimacy on fire by siding with his personal buddy Jeb," Davis wrote. At the start of the March 27 hearing, Boasberg emphasized that he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system. "That's how it works, and that's how all cases continue to be assigned in this court," Boasberg said during the hearing. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Supreme Court, and the D.C. District Court for additional comment. Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report. Original article source: Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg's DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
Fox News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg's DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
Federal Judge James Boasberg is facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies as he presides over multiple high-profile lawsuits targeting the Trump administration – cases that have now brought the judge's personal and professional ties under fresh scrutiny. Boasberg, who was previously appointed to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and reportedly once roomed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at Yale, has become a flashpoint for conservatives who accuse the judiciary of bias against the Trump administration. Now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Boasberg's recent orders halting deportations of violent illegal immigrants and overseeing cases tied to leaked internal communications have amplified claims of partisanship and drawn fierce rebukes from Trump and his allies. "The Chief Justice handpicked DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg to serve on the FISA court," said Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project. "The DC federal judges are in a cozy little club, and they protect their own." His comments echo a broader sentiment on the right that Boasberg's judicial decisions – and his close ties within the legal establishment – reflect a partisan tilt against the president. Boasberg, a Washington, D.C., native, earned an advanced degree in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and later attended Yale Law School, where he lived with Kavanaugh, according to multiple reports. He graduated in 1990 and clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco as a litigation associate from 1991 to 1994. He later worked at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996. After serving in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Boasberg was appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the local trial court for the District. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where he was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission on March 17, 2011. Boasberg was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The FISA Court is made up of 11 federal judges, all of whom are hand-selected by the chief justice. After undergoing rigorous background checks, FISA Court judges are then responsible for approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants submitted by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of the court's work remains classified. Boasberg served as the court's presiding judge from 2020 to 2021 before returning to the D.C. District Court. After Boasberg on March 15 ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under a 1798 wartime authority, Trump took to Truth Social to call for his impeachment. The president's remarks echoed a growing chorus of conservatives who have recently called for the impeachment of federal judges overseeing his administration's legal battles. "I'm just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges' I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON'T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump wrote in the post. In an unprecedented move by the nation's high court, Roberts released a public statement shortly thereafter, denouncing impeachment as an appropriate response to judicial disagreements. "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," he said in the statement released in mid-March. Trump once again unloaded on Boasberg in a March 30 Truth Social post after the judge extended his restraining order on March 28. The extension will run through April 12. "People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country," Trump wrote on the social media platform. "The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers. If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn't be allowed to do his job, and people's lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!," he continued. Boasberg came under additional fire after he was randomly assigned to preside over a lawsuit involving the Trump administration's leaked Signal chat. After Boasberg was assigned to the case, Trump again took to Truth Social and accused Boasberg of "grabbing the 'Trump Cases' all to himself." Davis also took to social media, writing, "Judge Jeb Boasberg is lighting on fire his legitimacy over an unnecessary, lawless, and dangerous pissing match with the President Jeb will lose. "Let's hope the Chief Justice doesn't light the entire federal judiciary's legitimacy on fire by siding with his personal buddy Jeb," Davis wrote. At the start of the March 27 hearing, Boasberg emphasized that he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system. "That's how it works, and that's how all cases continue to be assigned in this court," Boasberg said during the hearing.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is James Boasberg, the US judge at the center of Trump's deportation efforts?
The federal judge who temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's use of a wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals could be at the center of a larger battle after Trump's border czar vowed Monday to continue sending migrants back to Latin America. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg made headlines Saturday for granting an emergency restraining order blocking the Trump administration from invoking a 1798 law to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua, for 14 days. Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs, Democracy Forward and the ACLU, in ruling that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm. "Given the exigent circumstances that [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set," Boasberg said in his order, which blocked Trump from invoking any deportations under the Alien Enemies Act for two weeks. His decision drew immediate criticism from Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, who declared in an interview on "Fox & Friends" that, "We are not stopping." Trump Asks Supreme Court To Review Ban On Birthright Citizenship "I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the Left thinks. We're coming," Homan, said, adding, "Another fight. Another fight every day." Read On The Fox News App This was not the first time Boasberg found himself in the crosshairs of Trump's supporters – he previously oversaw the FISA court that authorized surveillance of certain members of Trump's 2016 campaign. Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was appointed to the bench nearly 15 years ago by President Barack Obama. In 2014, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court – a court comprised of 11 federal judges hand-selected by the chief justice. The judges undergo extensive background checks prior to their confirmation, and are tasked with approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants sought by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of their work remains classified. Boasberg served as the presiding judge of the FISA Court from 2020 to 2021. Rubio Heads To Panama, Latin America To Pursue Trump's 'Golden Age' Agenda A graduate of Yale, Oxford University and Yale Law, Boasberg clerked for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before later joining the Justice Department as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. After returning full-time to the federal bench, Boasberg oversaw the sentencing of former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to doctoring a 2017 email asking to extend surveillance permissions for its wiretap of former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. Boasberg declined to sentence Clinesmith to prison time and instead ordered him to just 12 months of probation and 400 hours of community service – a notable decision, given his own background on the FISA court. He said in his sentencing decision that he believed Clinesmith's role at the center of a years-long media "hurricane" had provided sufficient punishment. "Anybody who has watched what Mr. Clinesmith has suffered is not someone who will readily act in that fashion," Boasberg said. Here's Why Dozens Of Lawsuits Seeking To Quash Trump's Early Actions As President Are Failing "Weighing all of these factors together – both in terms of the damages he caused and what he has suffered and the positives in his own life – I believe a probationary sentence is appropriate here and will therefore impose it," he continued. Until recently, Boasberg has largely avoided making headlines, including any public broadsides that may have put him at odds with the Trump administration. That changed quickly when he granted the restraining order this weekend. The decision was immediately appealed by lawyers for the Trump administration. Although Boasberg's order said any plane carrying migrants removed by the law in question be "immediately" returned to the U.S., the decision apparently came too late to stop an early wave of migrants being deported to El Salvador. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that a plane carrying hundreds of individuals – including more than 130 persons removed under the Alien Enemies Act – had already "left U.S. airspace" by the time the order was handed down. "The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory," Leavitt said. It is unclear what, if any, steps the judge could take to reverse that action. The standoff is the latest in a wave of legal challenges seeking to block or slow the wave of sweeping executive actions or orders Trump has issued in his second White House term, a fight that has come to define Trump's first few months back in office. Courts have struggled to slow the dizzying pace of executive orders, which have called for the gutting of government personnel from federal agencies, halted billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid, and attempted to ban birthright citizenship, among other things. As of this writing, Trump has signed at least 200 executive orders and actions – most of which have been met with multiple court challenges and lawsuits. Most are in the earliest stages of legal limbo, as courts seek to clarify the intent of the ruling, the alleged harm caused to plaintiffs, and later, to discern whether it is necessary or appropriate for the courts to intervene. The White House asserts that lower court judges like Boasberg should not have the power to prevent the president from executing what it argues is a lawful agenda – though the judges in question have disagreed that the president's actions all follow the law. "A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil," Leavitt told Fox News. At issue is Trump's use of the 228-year-old Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport Venezuelan nationals presumed to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Plaintiffs have argued that Congress originally passed the law centuries ago to give the president more power during times of war to deport noncitizens. Since its creation, it has been used just three times: during the War of 1812, World War I, and most recently, during World War II. They argued in their filing that it would be inappropriate for Trump to use the law now as a means of deporting Venezuelan migrants, as the country "is not invading the United States" and has not launched a "predatory incursion" into U.S. territory. Boasberg agreed, noting Saturday that the two-week freeze will give the court more time to consider the merits of the case at article source: Who is James Boasberg, the US judge at the center of Trump's deportation efforts?
Fox News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Who is James Boasberg, the US judge at the center of Trump's deportation efforts?
The federal judge who temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's use of a wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals could be at the center of a larger battle after Trump's border czar vowed Monday to continue sending migrants back to Latin America. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg made headlines Saturday for granting an emergency restraining order blocking the Trump administration from invoking a 1798 law to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua, for 14 days. Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs, Democracy Forward and the ACLU, in ruling that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm. "Given the exigent circumstances that [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set," Boasberg said in his order, which blocked Trump from invoking any deportations under the Alien Enemies Act for two weeks. His decision drew immediate criticism from Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, who declared in an interview on "Fox & Friends" that, "We are not stopping." "I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the Left thinks. We're coming," Homan, said, adding, "Another fight. Another fight every day." This was not the first time Boasberg found himself in the crosshairs of Trump's supporters – he previously oversaw the FISA court that authorized surveillance of certain members of Trump's 2016 campaign. Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was appointed to the bench nearly 15 years ago by President Barack Obama. In 2014, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court – a court comprised of 11 federal judges hand-selected by the chief justice. The judges undergo extensive background checks prior to their confirmation, and are tasked with approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants sought by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of their work remains classified. Boasberg served as the presiding judge of the FISA Court from 2020 to 2021. A graduate of Yale, Oxford University and Yale Law, Boasberg clerked for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before later joining the Justice Department as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. After returning full-time to the federal bench, Boasberg oversaw the sentencing of former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to doctoring a 2017 email asking to extend surveillance permissions for its wiretap of former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. Boasberg declined to sentence Clinesmith to prison time and instead ordered him to just 12 months of probation and 400 hours of community service – a notable decision, given his own background on the FISA court. He said in his sentencing decision that he believed Clinesmith's role at the center of a years-long media "hurricane" had provided sufficient punishment. "Anybody who has watched what Mr. Clinesmith has suffered is not someone who will readily act in that fashion," Boasberg said. "Weighing all of these factors together – both in terms of the damages he caused and what he has suffered and the positives in his own life – I believe a probationary sentence is appropriate here and will therefore impose it," he continued. Until recently, Boasberg has largely avoided making headlines, including any public broadsides that may have put him at odds with the Trump administration. That changed quickly when he granted the restraining order this weekend. The decision was immediately appealed by lawyers for the Trump administration. Although Boasberg's order said any plane carrying migrants removed by the law in question be "immediately" returned to the U.S., the decision apparently came too late to stop an early wave of migrants being deported to El Salvador. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that a plane carrying hundreds of individuals – including more than 130 persons removed under the Alien Enemies Act – had already "left U.S. airspace" by the time the order was handed down. "The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist [Tren de Aragua] aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory," Leavitt said. It is unclear what, if any, steps the judge could take to reverse that action. The standoff is the latest in a wave of legal challenges seeking to block or slow the wave of sweeping executive actions or orders Trump has issued in his second White House term, a fight that has come to define Trump's first few months back in office. Courts have struggled to slow the dizzying pace of executive orders, which have called for the gutting of government personnel from federal agencies, halted billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid, and attempted to ban birthright citizenship, among other things. As of this writing, Trump has signed at least 200 executive orders and actions – most of which have been met with multiple court challenges and lawsuits. Most are in the earliest stages of legal limbo, as courts seek to clarify the intent of the ruling, the alleged harm caused to plaintiffs, and later, to discern whether it is necessary or appropriate for the courts to intervene. The White House asserts that lower court judges like Boasberg should not have the power to prevent the president from executing what it argues is a lawful agenda – though the judges in question have disagreed that the president's actions all follow the law. "A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil," Leavitt told Fox News. At issue is Trump's use of the 228-year-old Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport Venezuelan nationals presumed to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Plaintiffs have argued that Congress originally passed the law centuries ago to give the president more power during times of war to deport noncitizens. Since its creation, it has been used just three times: during the War of 1812, World War I, and most recently, during World War II. They argued in their filing that it would be inappropriate for Trump to use the law now as a means of deporting Venezuelan migrants, as the country "is not invading the United States" and has not launched a "predatory incursion" into U.S. territory. Boasberg agreed, noting Saturday that the two-week freeze will give the court more time to consider the merits of the case at hand.
