Bondi Escalates Assault on Judiciary With Misconduct Complaint Against Judge
Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a misconduct complaint against a federal judge overseeing high-profile lawsuits against the Trump administration, escalating President Donald Trump’s ongoing assault on the judiciary.
The DOJ issued the complaint over comments that James Boasberg, the chief district judge in Washington, D.C., made during a judicial conference with Chief Justice John Roberts and other federal judges earlier this year.
In announcing the complaint, Bondi claimed Boasberg’s comments “undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that.”
A leaked memo from the March 11 meeting, which was recently obtained by a right-leaning media outlet, indicated that Boasberg raised concerns that the Trump administration could ignite a constitutional crisis by disregarding court rulings.
The complaint, which was signed by Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle, said Boasberg’s comments were “inappropriate” and claimed that he was attempting to “improperly influence” Roberts and two dozen other federal judges.
“Although his comments would be inappropriate even if they had some basis, they were even worse because Judge Boasberg had no basis—the Trump Administration has always complied with all court orders,” the DOJ claimed.
Just days after the judicial conference, the Trump administration appeared to disobey Boasberg’s rulings against its efforts to summarily fly hundreds of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran megaprison without first giving them due process.
DOJ whistleblowers have alleged that senior department officials told subordinates to consider ignoring court rulings against the aggressive flights to El Salvador and deliberately misled Boasberg during court hearings.
Boasberg in April found there was probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt of court for showing “a willful disregard” toward his orders. However, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit quickly paused Boasberg’s contempt probe through an ongoing administrative stay.
The DOJ’s complaint asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. to remove Boasberg from overseeing J.G.G. v. Trump, the central case challenging the Trump administration’s flights to El Salvador.
It also asked the appeals court to investigate Boasberg’s comments and eventually reprimand him publicly and recommend his impeachment.
Boasberg, who was appointed to the D.C. District Court by former President Barack Obama but who was also appointed to D.C. Superior Court by former President George W. Bush, has already been the target of an impeachment effort by Trump and his congressional allies.
The calls against Boasberg reached such a pitch earlier this year that Roberts issued a rare statement rebuking the use of impeachment against judges for their judicial decisions.
The DOJ’s complaint against Boasberg is a continuation of the Trump administration’s attempt to paint judges that rule against it as rogue or prejudiced against Trump.
In reality, district judges across the ideological spectrum, including several who were appointed during Trump’s first term, have ruled against the president. Several judges have also warned in bench comments or written orders that the government is operating lawlessly.
As part of its escalating attack on the judiciary, the DOJ last month filed an unprecedented lawsuit against every federal district judge in Maryland to challenge a standing court order protecting migrants’ right to due process.
Last week, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly criticized federal judges in New Jersey for replacing Alina Habba, one of Trump’s former personal attorneys, with a veteran federal prosecutor as the state’s U.S. attorney.