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(WASHINGTON) — A day after a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to provide details about two deportation flights to El Salvador over the weekend, the Trump administration is escalating its legal battle against him.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens under the Alien Enemies Act and ordered that they turn around two flights the administration said were deporting migrant gang members to El Salvador.
After officials failed to turn the flights around, Judge Boasberg demanded that they provide more information about the flights, under seal, but DOJ attorneys refused, citing national security concerns.
According to a court filing Wednesday morning, DOJ attorneys say they are considering invoking the state secrets privilege to deny the judge that information.
Despite signaling a willingness, in a filing Tuesday, to provide the information if it’s shielded from public view, the administration said Wednesday they should not be forced to provide the information privately.
“The underlying premise of these orders, including the most recent one requiring the production of these facts ex parte today at noon, is that the Judicial Branch is superior to the Executive Branch, particularly on non-legal matters involving foreign affairs and national security,” they wrote. “The Government disagrees. The two branches are coequal, and the Court’s continued intrusions into the prerogatives of the Executive Branch, especially on a non-legal and factually irrelevant matter, should end.”
President Donald Trump lashed out again at Boasberg Wednesday morning in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“If a President doesn’t have the right to throw murderers, and other criminals, out of our Country because a Radical Left Lunatic Judge wants to assume the role of President, then our Country is in very big trouble, and destined to fail!” Trump wrote.
The escalation comes after Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment.
“Many people have called for his impeachment, the impeachment of this judge. I don’t know who the judge is, but he’s radical left,” Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
“He was Obama-appointed, and he actually said we shouldn’t be able to take criminals, killers, murderers, horrible, the worst people, gang members, gang leaders, that we shouldn’t be allowed to take them out of our country,” Trump said. “That’s not for a local judge to be making that determination.”
In the wake of Trump’s call for impeachment, Chief Justice Roberts issued an unusual statement of rebuke.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in the statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Congress can impeach a judge if a simple majority is reached in the House. If the articles were taken up and ultimately clear the House, the Senate would need to hold a trial. It would require a two-thirds majority vote in the upper chamber to convict a judge.
It’s rare, but not unprecedented, for members of Congress to file articles of impeachment against a judge.
Trump, meanwhile, brushed off Roberts’ criticism, saying, “He didn’t mention my name in the statement. I just saw it quickly. He didn’t mention my name.”
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