DOJ seeks to boot Judge Boasberg from pursuing contempt hearings

quote:

---

The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to block U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s planned contempt hearings next week and boot him from the case entirely.

It escalates the administration’s long-running feud with Boasberg over his handling of the case, which began in March after Trump invoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to swiftly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

---

quote:

---

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Boasberg has created a “strong appearance that the district judge is engaged in a pattern of retaliation and harassment, and has developed too strong a bias to preside over this matter impartially.”

Boasberg had recently ordered testimony from a former DOJ employee, Erez Reuveni, who has since made a whistleblower disclosure about the failure to halt flights that took more than 100 Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in El Salvador.

The testimony will inform Boasberg as he considers referring Trump administration officials for criminal contempt after finding his March order to turn around deportation flights being carried out under the AEA was violated.

---