President Trump on Tuesday called for the impeachment of a federal judge he labeled a “troublemaker and agitator” for standing in the way of deportation flights.
Mr. Trump, writing on Truth Social, did not mention U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg by name, but his target was clear.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be impeached!!!. We don’t want vicious, violent and demented criminals, many of them deranged murderers, in our country,” the president wrote, using his aggressive social media style.
Mr. Trump went on to say that Judge Boasberg, an Obama appointee and the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, “was not elected president” — and then recounted his own 2024 victory, saying his stance on immigration may have been the chief reason for his win.
“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do,” he wrote.
Judge Boasberg over the weekend tried to halt deportation flights taking hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador.
SEE ALSO: Trump goes all-in on deportation fight, claims national security powers
The administration first cited Mr. Trump’s new proclamation flexing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as justification for the removals. His administration has also cited his inherent powers as commander in chief, given that he has declared Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that infiltrated the U.S. in the Biden years, as a foreign terrorist organization.
Judge Boasberg demanded flights be stopped and, if they were already in the air, that they be turned around so he could rule on the legality of Mr. Trump’s moves.
The administration carried out three flights, transferring the Venezuelan deportees to El Salvador, where that country is being paid to hold them.
The Justice Department has asked an appeals court to remove Judge Boasberg from the case, saying he’s broken the bounds of appropriate judicial behavior.
“This court should also immediately reassign this case to another district court judge given the highly unusual and improper procedures — e.g. certification of a class action involving members of a designated foreign terrorist organization in less than 18 hours with no discovery and no briefing from the Government — that have been employed in the district court proceedings to date,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew C. Ensign told the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
That court hasn’t ruled on that request, and is also pondering another ask that Judge Boasberg’s inquiry be halted.
In a hearing Monday, Judge Boasberg sparred with the Justice Department, demanding to know why it wouldn’t answer questions about the deportation flights.
The judge has even become an international target of mockery with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele over the weekend chiding the judge for failing to stop the flights.
“Oopsie … Too late,” he posted to social media.
Mr. Bukele also released video of his new guests, showing men being manhandled off the plane, having their hair and beards shorn off, dressed in white T-shirts, white undershorts and white sandals, shackled and taken to cells.
Judge Boasberg has become a target for Republicans.
One House Republican has already said he would introduce articles of impeachment to try to remove the judge.
Judge Boasberg’s family has also come under scrutiny. His wife is listed as founder and board member of an abortion clinic in northern Virginia, and his daughter works at an organization that assists criminal defendants.
