The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has handed President Donald Trump and his administration another huge win against a judge with an axe to grind against the president.
In March, Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order that required the Trump administration to divert planeloads of illegal alien criminals that were headed to El Salvador and return them to the U.S. The administration refused to abide by Boasberg’s partisan ruling, so the judge declared that he had probable cause to hold the administration in contempt.
Naturally, the administration immediately filed an appeal. My friend and colleague Matt Margolis explained at the time: “The administration’s legal response was swift and devastating. Its appeal systematically dismantled Boasberg’s ruling, pointing out how it represents a ‘massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority’ and directly contradicts recent Supreme Court precedent.”
On Friday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order in the case of J.G.G. v. Trump that vacates Boasberg’s order. The court granted the petition to overturn Boasberg’s contempt ruling.
The court’s opinion is relatively short, but concurrences and dissents drive the decision to 100 pages. “This matter arises from challenges to the government’s removal of alleged members of the transnational criminal gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) pursuant to a presidential proclamation designating TdA members as alien enemies under the Alien Enemies Act,” the court explained.
Related: SCOTUS Hands Big Immigration Win to Trump Administration
It’s a lot to digest, but my RedState colleague Susie Moore (who is also my go-to on legal matters) pointed out the most important part:
Judge Katsas and Judge Rao conclude that the government has satisfied the stringent requirements for a writ of mandamus. The Court therefore grants the government’s petition for mandamus and vacates the district court’s probable-cause order. Judge Pillard dissents from the grant of mandamus and the vacatur.
Judge Gregory G. Katsas noted in his concurring opinion:
The district court used the threat of criminal contempt to coerce the Executive Branch to comply with an order it had no authority to enforce. And it directed that coercion toward the Executive’s exercise of its foreign affairs power. The significance of the district court’s error, coupled with the potential for abuse in future cases, justifies our intervention at this stage of the proceedings. Considering the “totality of the circumstances,” the writ is appropriate.
“Bottom line: Huge win for Trump. HUGE,” wrote legal expert Margot Cleveland on X. “And also, I would submit, shows how Boasberg’s anti-Trump bias and presumption Trump would violate an order played out in the real world and precisely why recusal was appropriate!”
There’s more to this victory than simply lifting a contempt order. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stood up to an activist, partisan judge who ruled the way he did as some sort of vendetta against the president. Boasberg ought to face consequences for his actions, but I don’t see anything happening to him.
Progressive judges have used their rulings to hamstring the Trump administration at every turn, and it’s time for that phenomenon to come to an end. Hopefully, this ruling is the first domino to fall. Surely others will fall alongside it.
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