James Boasberg

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Key Figures

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.

Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for D.C. quashed DOJ grand jury subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on March 19, 2026. Boasberg ruled the government had offered no evidence Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president, and found the probe was designed to pressure Powell to cut interest rates or resign. The DOJ had opened the criminal investigation in January 2026 focused on alleged false statements to Congress about Fed headquarters renovation cost overruns.

The Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas on January 10, 2026, opening a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell over alleged false or misleading statements to Congress about the central bank's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project. Powell publicly characterized the probe as politically motivated, stating the Fed's interest rate decisions — not construction cost overruns — were the real target. Judge James Boasberg subsequently quashed the subpoenas, finding prosecutors had produced "essentially zero evidence" of a crime.

Federal District Judge James Boasberg initiated criminal contempt proceedings after the Trump administration flew deportation flights to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act while his court order blocking the removals was still in effect. The administration claimed procedural grounds to proceed, setting up a direct constitutional confrontation between executive deportation authority and federal judicial oversight.

Trump publicly attacked Judge James Boasberg and called for his impeachment after the judge scrutinized deportation flights tied to the Alien Enemies Act. The post placed direct pressure on the judiciary and turned a court order into a national separation-of-powers conflict.