(Washington) The Justice Department asked an appeals court Friday to block a contempt investigation against the Trump administration for refusing to send planes carrying Venezuelan migrants back to El Salvador in March.
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The department is also seeking the recusal of Chief Justice James Boasberg, accusing him of waging a “radical, vindictive and unconstitutional campaign” against the Trump administration.
It marks a dramatic escalation in the long-running feud between the Justice Department and the judge appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, setting the stage for a showdown over the judicial power to police an administration that has pushed the boundaries of court rulings.
The department wants the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rule on its requests before Monday, when Judge Boasberg is scheduled to hear testimony from a former government lawyer who filed a whistleblower complaint.
Department officials say Boasberg is biased and creating “a circus that threatens both the separation of powers and attorney-client privilege.”
“The upcoming hearing looks like an endless fishing expedition for an ever-expanding list of witnesses and prolonged testimony. This show is not a sincere effort to uncover relevant facts,” they wrote.
Boasberg said a recent appeals court ruling gives him the authority to continue the contempt investigation. The judge is trying to determine if there is enough evidence to send the case to court.
Mr. Boasberg, who has served as chief judge of the Washington District Court since March 2023, said the Trump administration may have “acted in bad faith” by trying to hastily expel Venezuelan migrants from the country, in defiance of his order blocking their expulsion to El Salvador.
In an order issued April 16, the judge said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to correct or explain its actions” but concluded that “none of its responses were satisfactory.”
“The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of court orders, particularly by officials of a coordinated branch who have taken an oath to uphold it,” Mr. Boasberg wrote.
The Trump administration has denied any violation, saying the judge’s March 15 directive to return the planes was given verbally to the court but was not included in his written order.
Donald Trump called for the impeachment of Judge Boasberg in March. In July, the Justice Department filed a malpractice complaint, accusing him of making inappropriate public comments about the US president and his administration.
In a message posted Friday on social media, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Mr. Boasberg of engaging in “unlawful judicial activism.”
“This radical, vindictive and unconstitutional campaign against the Trump administration will not stand,” wrote Mme Jumped.
In a written statement to the court, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she made the decision not to return the planes to the United States after receiving “privileged legal advice” from the Department of Homeland Security’s acting general counsel and “through him, senior Justice Department officials.”
Judge Boasberg characterized Ms.me Noem called it “superficial” and said the minister was not providing her with enough information to determine whether she deliberately violated her March 15 order.
On Friday, Mr. Boasberg refused to cancel or postpone hearings scheduled for next week.
“To begin with, this investigation is not an academic exercise,” he wrote. “Approximately 137 men were removed from this country without a hearing and placed in a high-security prison in El Salvador, where many suffered abuse and possibly torture, despite this Court’s order that they should not be disembarked. »
