Appeals court orders judge to end contempt investigation of Trump administration deportation flights
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge must end an “intrusive” contempt investigation into the Trump administration for failing to comply with an order last year on flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, an appeals court panel is divided. reigned on Tuesday.
Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in advancing criminal contempt cases stemming from the March 2025 deportation flights, according to a majority opinion by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The decision is the latest twist in a year-long legal saga that has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. The White House portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority.
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion that the Trump administration had a “clear and indisputable” right to terminate the defamation suit.
“The legal error at the heart of this criminal contempt case demonstrates why the district court’s further investigation was an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is only possible for violation of a clear and specific order. (Boasberg’s March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically prevent the government from detaining plaintiffs in El Salvador.”
Lawyers for deported immigrants will ask the plenary court to review the panel’s decision, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt said the majority opinion was “a blow to the rule of law.”
“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court decisions. In this case, there is no longer any doubt that the Trump administration willfully violated the court order,” Gelernt said in a statement.
Rao was nominated by Republican Trump. Boasberg, the chief district court judge in Washington, D.C., was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
On March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador. It’s a law from the 18th century. After the order was entered, two planeloads of immigrants protected by the order set off for El Salvador, where they were locked up in one of the world’s most violent prisons. The management then said… Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem He was responsible for the transfer decision.
Boasberg, Trump administration may have acted in bad faith By defying his orders and trying to force Venezuelan immigrants out of the country. He said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to correct or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses were satisfactory.”
Last year, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making inappropriate public comments about Trump and his administration. Trump called for Boasberg to be fired. In a rare rebuke, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice John Roberts expressly rejected He calls for Boasberg’s removal.
The case was assigned to Rao and Circuit Judges Justin Walker and J. Michelle Childs. Walker, who is also a Trump candidate, wrote a separate opinion concurring with Rao’s. Childs, nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, was the majority opponent.
Childs said the court majority trampled on Boasberg’s authority “in a way that will not only impact these contempt cases, but will reverberate in future cases against all plaintiffs.”
“Any plaintiff can now claim non-defamation based on his or her preferred interpretation of a court decision before findings of defamation arise,” Childs wrote in his 80-page dissent.
