Appeals court shuts down criminal contempt probe over deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered Chief Judge James Boasberg to end a contempt investigation into the Trump administration over its failure to comply with an order to turn around deportation flights.
Boasberg drew national attention while overseeing a challenge to President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members.
The panel found Boasberg abused his discretion by continuing the investigation and said the administration had a “clear and indisputable right” to end the probe.
At issue was the administration’s failure to turn around flights that had already departed after Boasberg ordered them to return to the United States while en route to El Salvador.
