He was ordered by an appeals court to end his contempt probe into President Trump’s administration.
By Catholics for Catholics
A judge appointed by former President Barack Obama was ordered by an appeals court to end his contempt probe into President Donald Trump’s administration, for not abiding with a directive to turn planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador around.
According to a story by Newsmax, Chief Judge James Boasberg misused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings over the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion that the Trump administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the cessation of the contempt proceedings,
“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg’s March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”
The crux of the matter is this: on March 15, 2025, two planes transferring Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. to El Salvador were in the air when Boasberg ordered the administration to turn them around.
Administration officials claim Boasberg is biased and surpassed his authority.
The Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to scurry Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order blocking their deportations to El Salvador, Boasberg has said.
In an April 16, 2025 order, the judge said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”
Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg.
In addition, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint last year, accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration.
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