A U.S. judge warned that the Trump administration could face consequences if it is found to have violated his order temporarily halting the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, while also granting the government more time to provide details on the expulsions.
Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued order on Wednesday saying the administration could also invoke the state secrets doctrine, which protects sensitive national security information from being disclosed in civil litigation, and explain why it is doing so rather than provide the details.
The judge cited examples of how Secretary of State Marco Rubio had voluntarily disclosed details of the flights on social media, calling into question whether compliance with the order would jeopardize national security.
Intruding On Presidential Discretion?
President Donald Trump’s administration had said the judge was improperly intruding on presidential discretion to handle sensitive diplomatic and national security matters, the latest escalation in a confrontation between the executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government.
The dispute has prompted concern Trump is further pushing the boundaries of executive power at the expense of the federal judiciary, which under the U.S. Constitution is a co-equal branch of the American government. Trump critics and some legal experts have expressed concern over a potentially looming constitutional crisis if his administration openly defies judicial decisions.
Boasberg did not say what the potential consequences would be if he found the Trump administration violated his weekend order blocking the deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members under an 18th-century law.
The judge is trying to determine whether the administration violated his order by failing to divert three planes that carried the deportees to El Salvador, where they are being held.
On Tuesday, the judge asked for more details about the timing of the flights, and gave the government the option of providing those details to him outside of public view.
Partial Win For Trump
On Wednesday, the judge wrote that he was seeking the information not as part of a “judicial fishing expedition,” as the Trump administration had asserted, but rather “to determine if the Government deliberately flouted its Orders issued on March 15, 2025, and, if so, what the consequences should be”.
Boasberg said the government would have until noon (1600 GMT) on Thursday either to provide more details of the flights or invoke the state secrets doctrine. That was a partial win for the Trump administration, which had asked for a delay to his order on Tuesday requiring that it provide more details on the flights by Wednesday at noon.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump in a social media post on Tuesday called for Boasberg’s impeachment in a congressional process that could lead to removal, describing the judge as a far-left “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Trump’s comments prompted a rare statement from Chief Justice John Roberts, a member of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority. Roberts said appeals of judicial rulings, not impeachment, were the appropriate response when disagreeing with a judge’s decision.
In an interview late on Tuesday with the Fox News program “The Ingraham Angle,” Trump said his administration would not defy any court orders. But Trump said he was confident the Supreme Court would ultimately rule in his favor in the case.
Trump said “many people” had called for the impeachment of the judge in the case, without naming Boasberg or specifying who else had called for his impeachment.
(With inputs from Reuters)
