Judge finishes Chief Justice Roberts' assignment, completely tears apart 'uncorroborated' Trump DOJ complaint at center of Boasberg impeachment push

After U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's DOJ implicit the summertime submitted a judicial misconduct ailment against a almighty national justice successful Washington, D.C., not adjacent attaching grounds successful enactment of claims GOP lawmakers nevertheless utilized to propulsion for an impeachment, a George W. Bush-appointed appellate jurist has tossed retired the substance transferred to his tribunal by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, successful a determination made a week earlier Christmas but not made nationalist until this weekend, jettisoned the DOJ's ailment against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for doing small much than bringing "repetition of uncorroborated statements" to the table.

As Law&Crime reported successful July, with a ineligible morals adept panning the ailment arsenic "simply not credible" and doomed to beryllium dismissed, the Trump medication insisted Boasberg should look subject and beryllium removed from presiding implicit a high-profile case.

The judicial misconduct ailment came aft the blimpish website The Federalist cited a memo of a non-public March 11 league successful which Boasberg "raised his colleagues' concerns that the Administration would disregard rulings of national courts starring to a law crisis."

The complaint, signed by Bondi's then-chief of unit Chad Mizelle and submitted to Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan, of the District of Columbia Circuit, demanded "corrective measures," including the reassignment of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) lawsuit J.G.G. v. Trump to different judge, a nationalist reprimand, and "referral to the Judicial Conference for information of impeachment-related recommendations, if the committee finds willful misconduct."

In J.G.G. v. Trump, Boasberg has been searching for answers for astir a twelvemonth astir whether the Trump medication and assorted officials willfully violated his March 15 impermanent restraining bid (TRO), which was issued orally 4 days aft his alleged remarks. That day, a Saturday, the authorities pushed up with AEA removals of 137 Venezuelan men whom the authorities alleged were affiliated with the Tren de Aragua pack contempt Boasberg's order to crook astir immoderate planes that were successful the air.

While the DOJ argued that the planes were already retired of U.S. airspace and the justice lacked jurisdiction, Boasberg, successful April, determined determination was probable origin to find the Trump medication successful transgression contempt for defying his TRO — an bid the U.S. Supreme Court would aboriginal vacate.

By August, the DOJ successfully persuaded 2 D.C. Circuit judges appointed by President Donald Trump to assistance uncommon mandamus alleviation vacating Boasberg's "contempt-related order."

After a petition was filed with the D.C. Circuit seeking the afloat — en banc — court's review, the tribunal declined to assistance the petition but made wide that Boasberg could proceed his contempt inquiry. Boasberg responded by attempting to bash conscionable that, going truthful acold arsenic to docket witnesser testimony.

The DOJ, however, resisted with an appeal, and Boasberg has made no meaningful progress successful his enquiry since.

As precocious arsenic aboriginal January, Republican lawmakers cited the beingness of the DOJ's ailment arsenic applicable to the question of Boasberg's impeachment and a trial, adjacent though Sutton dismissed the misconduct ailment connected Dec. 19.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., erstwhile calling for an impeachment trial connected Jan. 7, made a constituent to participate the ailment "into the record."

"That's right," Schmitt said, "Judge Boasberg issued the 'turn the planes around' bid conscionable a fewer days aft that. Within the adjacent week, Judge Boasberg was acting connected his preconceived content that the Trump medication would not travel tribunal orders."

However, the precise ailment Schmitt cited to enactment his conclusions was already thrown out.

The dismissal bid confirmed that Roberts, astatine Srinivasan's request, transferred the substance retired of Washington, D.C., successful aboriginal December, leaving the 6th Circuit to resoluteness the complaint. And that's what Sutton did.

"The superior mentation of the ailment is that the justice made an improper connection astatine the Judicial Conference connected March 11 astir the hazard that the Administration would not comply with national judicial rulings. This assertion fails to found a cognizable ground of misconduct," Sutton said. "First, it lacks 'sufficient evidence' to enactment the allegations."

The justice noted that the ailment was submitted with an "Attachment A" — the "one root of evidence" — which the DOJ "did not supply."

"In the lack of the attachment, the ailment offers nary root for what, if anything, the taxable justice said during the Conference, erstwhile helium said it, whether helium said it successful effect to a question, whether helium said it during the Conference oregon astatine different meeting, and whether helium expressed these concerns arsenic his ain oregon arsenic those of different judges," Sutton summarized.

Nor did the DOJ's notation to a "Fox News clip" astir the allegations magnitude to capable evidence.

"A recycling of unadorned allegations with nary notation to a root does not corroborate them. And a repetition of uncorroborated statements seldom supplies a ground for a valid misconduct complaint," Sutton added, likening the claims to gossip and rumor.

A 2nd glaring contented with the complaint, Sutton said, was that Boasberg's allegedly impermissible "public comment" was made successful a non-public forum — and days earlier helium issued the TRO helium aboriginal determined the Trump medication violated.

"To the grade the Department claims that the judge's alleged March 11 remark amounts to a 'public comment' with respect to 'a substance pending oregon impending successful immoderate court' successful usurpation of Canon 3(A)(6), that mentation besides falls short," Sutton continued. "The alleged remark does not notation to a case, and the J.G.G. enactment was not filed until 4 days later: March 15, 2025."

A 3rd occupation was that the DOJ sought the reassignment of J.G.G. to different justice arsenic a substance of discipline. That relief, Sutton explained, was not "available" to the DOJ.

"The due forum for these allegations is the roadworthy already taken: alleviation successful the D.C. Circuit and, if request be, the Supreme Court," the dismissal concluded. "To the grade the ailment asks that the underlying lawsuit beryllium reassigned to different judge, that is not a signifier of alleviation disposable done the ailment process."

Read the dismissal successful afloat here.