DC Circuit orders Boasberg to halt criminal contempt probe into Venezuela deportation flights

A 2-1 DC Circuit panel ruled on April 14, 2026, that Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had overstepped by demanding sworn testimony from Trump officials to determine whether they defied his March 2025 oral order to turn around two deportation flights to El Salvador CECOT prison. Judges Neomi Rao and Justin Walker held the contempt inquiry encroached on executive branch autonomy. Judge Patricia Millett dissented, arguing judicial authority to enforce its own orders was being gutted.