Appeals court orders Boasberg to cease contempt actions against Trump Administration and fuels impeachment petitions against judge

The controversy surrounding federal judge James Boasberg intensified Tuesday after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him to definitely halt his criminal contempt investigation against top Trump administration officials.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) reacted immediately and called on House Republicans to initiate impeachment proceedings against the judge, whom he described as a "rogue Judge."

The case dates back to March last year, when Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants suspected of belonging to the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang (TDA) to El Salvador. Boasberg had ordered a halt to the flights, but at least two had already taken off.

The magistrate, appointed during the presidency of Barack Obama, then decided to open an inquiry to assess whether officials, including then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, had incurred criminal contempt.

Impeachment calls after clash over deportations

The House could open an investigation led by the Judiciary Committee, draft and vote on the relevant articles, and if it approves them, the Senate would hold the trial to decide whether to convict or acquit the judge.

"The DC Circuit ruled Boasberg’s contempt crusade against Trump officials is an ‘improper investigation’ and ‘clear abuse of discretion,’" wrote Schmitt on X. "He tried to imprison Trump officials for deporting Venezuelan gang members,” the senator added. “I’m calling on the House: Impeach Rogue Judge Boasberg."

In another post, Schmitt asserted that the justice "forced himself onto" on the case, "just a few days after trying to foment a constitutional crisis at a Judicial Conference meeting," referring to comments the justice allegedly made before Chief Justice John Roberts and other justices.

The justice "has spent the past year trying to jail prosecutors and cabinet Secretaries," Schmitt added.

Allegations of attempting to influence other judges

According to a complaint, filed last July by Chad Mizelle, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) official, with the D.C. Court of Appeals, "Judge Boasberg attempted to improperly influence Chief Justice Roberts and roughly two dozen other federal judges by straying from the traditional topics to express his belief that the Trump Administration would ‘disregard rulings of federal courts’ and trigger ‘a constitutional crisis,’"

"...although he lacked authority to do so, he issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Government from removing violent Tren de Aragua terrorists, which the Supreme Court summarily vacated," the complaint reads.