The judge overseeing the civil lawsuit involving a Signal group chat among members of Trump’s cabinet regarding Houthi attacks is the same judge who previously intervened to prevent the administration from deporting individuals suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. James Boasberg, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was appointed by Obama and is currently handling the case brought by the organization American Oversight against five cabinet members, as reported by Politico’s Kyle Cheney.
The legal action targets Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the National Archives and Records Administration. The lawsuit, filed under the Federal Records Act (FRA), seeks a court ruling that communications and messages sent via the Signal app during official government duties qualify as agency records under the FRA.
American Oversight submitted its lawsuit on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., and Judge Boasberg was assigned to the case the following Wednesday morning. Trump has previously expressed a desire to see Boasberg impeached, criticizing him publicly.
Boasberg is also known for blocking Trump’s attempts to deport illegal immigrants thought to be affiliated with the TdA gang, following the president’s invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act on March 15. Boasberg ordered that “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States however that is accomplished,” as noted by Politico. “Make sure it’s complied with immediately.”
Yet, by March 16, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that 238 suspected TdA members had already been transported from the U.S. to El Salvador. In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified to Breitbart News that the suspected gang members had already been removed from U.S. soil when Boasberg issued his ruling to block the deportations. “The Administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order. The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA aliens had already been removed from U.S. territory. The written order and the Administration’s actions do not conflict,” she explained.
On March 18, Trump renewed his call for Boasberg’s impeachment in a post on Truth Social, referring to him as a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge.” Trump wrote, “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
{Matzav.com}The post D.C. Judge Who Blocked Trump’s Tren de Aragua Deportations Gets Assigned to Lawsuit on Signal Group Text Controversy first appeared on Matzav.com.