Justice Dept. Dares Anti-Trump Judge to Hold Admin Officials In Contempt

The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge James Boasberg it has provided all the information it is willing to share about the deportation flights to El Salvador in March and said that if he finds the response insufficient, he should move ahead with the criminal contempt proceedings he has threatened.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said under oath in a filing Friday evening that she ordered the flights to continue, despite what Boasberg views as clear instructions to halt the planes, The Washington Times reported.

Two senior lawyers, one from Homeland Security and one from the Justice Department, said they offered her legal advice but declined to disclose the details.

Tiberius Davis, a Justice Department attorney, said they continue to believe the judge’s orders were not clear and that Noem did not intentionally defy the court. He said that if Judge Boasberg disagrees, he should proceed with a referral for criminal contempt rather than compel testimony from Noem or other officials, the Times reported.

“Accordingly, if the court continues to believe its order was sufficiently clear in imposing an obligation to halt the transfer of custody for detainees who had already been removed from the United States, the court should proceed promptly with a referral,” Davis wrote.

He argued that requiring Noem to testify would violate separation-of-powers principles, adding that the appropriate time for a defendant to testify would be at trial.

“It would be prejudicial and constitutionally improper to compel testimony in advance of a referral for prosecution, particularly when all of the facts that are necessary for a potential referral are already known and have been presented under oath,” Davis wrote.

The dispute centers on the flights of Venezuelan migrants the government said were members of Tren de Aragua, along with Salvadorans, who were transported to El Salvador on three flights on March 15.

The Venezuelans were removed under the Alien Enemies Act, which allowed the government to bypass standard immigration procedures. One of the migrants was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a repeat offender who had a previous immigration order of removal signed by judges.

Boasberg had ordered the planes grounded during a hearing that day without any thought regarding the logistical challenges or the fact that the planes were already in international airspace, according to the administration.