The Justice Department filed a formal complaint against Judge James Boasberg, accusing him of misconduct and demanding that he be removed from an ongoing deportation case.
“Today at my direction, @TheJusticeDept filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. “These comments have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that.”
According to DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle, Boasberg “first tried to persuade Chief Justice Roberts and other federal judges that the Trump Administration would not follow court orders, despite having no basis for his belief,” and then “acted on his baseless belief again and again in litigation over which he was presiding.”
Mizelle explained that Boasberg “violated the Canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, including the requirement that he ‘promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.'” He further noted that while federal judges “often complain about the decline of public trust in the judiciary,” the judiciary “will have itself to blame” if it “simply ignores improper conduct like Judge Boasberg’s.”
According to the complaint, obtained by The Hill, “Swift, visible action will reinforce the judiciary’s institutional integrity by showing that judges are held to the same standards they enforce and deter comparable misconduct.”
Members of Congress have taken similar actions in an effort to remove Boasberg.
Earlier this year, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg after the judge halted the Trump administration’s deportation flights of Venezuelan gang members. The articles accused the judge of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
