A federal judge who investigated the Trump administration’s use of wartime law in the 18th century, sent Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador and vowed to “reach the bottom” on Friday whether the government rejected an order to turn the plane around.
Washington US District Judge James Boasberg is trying to determine whether at least two immigrants ignored his turnaround orders, which were still flying, last weekend.
“We’ll get to the bottom of whether they violated my order, who ordered this and what the outcome will be,” Boasberg said at a lawsuit hearing that challenges deportation.
Earlier on Friday, the Justice Department informed the judge that the top leader of President Trump’s administration was debating whether to invoke “state secret privileges” in response to district judge questions about deportation flights.
Vice Atty. General Todd Blanche said in a court filing that there was “ongoing cabinet-level debate” about the request for details on Boasberg. The judge ordered the Trump administration to provide details about the flight or to argue that disclosure of information harms “national secrets.”
The Republican administration has resisted the judges’ demands heavily, calling it an “unnecessary judicial fishing” expedition. Boasberg dismissed the response as “severely inadequate,” increasing the likelihood that he would lightly empty the court and detain the administrator.
Government lawyers filed a statement of oath from Blanche before the judge held a case in Washington on Friday.
The Trump administration moved hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador under 18th century wartime laws. The flight was in the air on March 15th, when Boasberg issued an order, excluding temporary deportation, and ordered the plane to return to the United States.
The Justice Department says the judge’s oral instructions cannot be counted and only his written orders must be tracked, not applicable to flights that have already left the United States.
Trump and many Republican allies are calling for each Democrat Boasburg to be fired up. In a rare statement this week, Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said “Earth each is not an appropriate response to differences in opinion over a judicial decision.”
Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.
