The Department of Justice (DOJ) has weighed in on a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a federal judge, requiring the Trump administration to halt deportations carried out under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. US District Court Judge James Boasberg issued the 14-day TRO on Saturday evening, March 15. Two planes carrying illegal aliens associated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, had already departed the United States. Boasberg ordered the planes to be routed back to their point of departure, but that didn’t happen. Essentially, the order was ignored. On March 17, the DOJ said in a court filing that Boasberg "lacks jurisdiction because the presidential actions they challenge are not subject to judicial review."
The whole affair started, perhaps predictably enough, with a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). TROs are generally issued to stop, for a period, some action or practice that is facing a legal challenge, giving time to resolve the disputed matter through the judicial process.
Boasberg Incurs the Wrath of MAGA World
President Donald Trump and many of his supporters are raging against Boasberg, accusing him of usurping executive branch authority and using the TRO as a political weapon. Considering that almost every action the administration has taken thus far has been met with lawsuits and TROs, it is increasingly difficult to assume no political motivations are behind the unrelenting obstruction of the executive branch.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) has filed articles of impeachment against the judge in this case. He told Fox News Digital, "This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his … authority."
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley argued that impeachment proceedings against these judges put Republicans on the same ethical level as Democrats, who, he pointed out, abused their power by “their use of impeachment investigations and charges against their political opponents.” Turley suggested, “The way to respond to such rulings is to appeal them, not to try to remove judges (which is neither warranted nor likely).” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in a rare foray into politics, also panned the idea of impeaching a federal judge in this context. "[I]mpeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," the chief justice stated. "The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."
Impeachment vs Law Court
Turley is almost certainly correct in his assessment of how likely it is that Boasberg could be removed from office. The GOP-controlled House might muster enough votes to impeach, but there is practically no chance the Senate would convict. The process would take at least some weeks – for no effective result. Would congressional Republicans be wise to waste time and political capital on such a move when their Democratic opponents are looking at record-low approval ratings and the Trump administration is moving at breakneck speed to enact its agenda?
“Using the powers of his office, Chief Judge Boasberg has attempted to seize power from the Executive Branch and interfere with the will of the American people," said Rep. Gill. Even if that is a fair description, the DOJ is the most effective and, of course, most appropriate body to deal with the matter.
In its filing at the DC federal appeals court, the DOJ requested that Boasberg be removed from the case (the ACLU lawsuit).
As it turns out, Boasberg approved FISA warrants for the FBI back when it was surveilling Trump's presidential campaign associates in 2016. But it is also fair to note – if one wishes to score the judge on how political his rulings are – that he threw out a lawsuit against Trump brought by retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who rose to fame and infamy as a witness in Trump’s first impeachment.
How likely is it that Republicans go through with impeachment proceedings against Boasberg? Probably not very. Meanwhile, the legality of Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, which has drawn conflicting opinions, will not and cannot be resolved through the impeachment of a judge over one restraining order. That matter will play out in court between Boasberg and the DOJ – and perhaps ultimately before the US Supreme Court.
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