The Department of Justice on Monday filed an official misconduct complaint against District Judge James Boasberg "for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration," Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle wrote the complaint, referring to comments the judge made during a March 11 judicial conference, which was attended by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, among others.
“While there, Judge Boasberg attempted to improperly influence Chief Justice Roberts and roughly two dozen other federal judges by straying from the traditional topics to express his belief that the Trump Administration would ‘disregard rulings of federal courts’ and trigger ‘a constitutional crisis,’” Mizelle wrote, reports Fox News.
“Although his comments would be inappropriate even if they had some basis, they were even worse because Judge Boasberg had no basis — the Trump Administration has always complied with all court orders,” Mizelle continued. “Nor did Judge Boasberg identify any purported violations of court orders to justify his unprecedented predictions.”
Mizelle pointed to Boasberg’s deportation flight order—later overturned by the Supreme Court—writing, “within days of those statements, Judge Boasberg began acting on his preconceived belief that the Trump Administration would not follow court orders.”
“Taken together, Judge Boasberg’s words and deeds violate Canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, and, erode public confidence in judicial neutrality, and warrant a formal investigation,” he added.
The complaint, focused on months-old behavior and allegations surrounding Judge Boasberg— first tapped as a judge by then-President George W. Bush in 2002, comes at a time when he could again have a say in a major class action case brought by lawyers representing the former CECOT migrants.
Lawyers for the ACLU and others in the class asked Judge Boasberg earlier this month to reopen discovery in the case, citing allegations from a United Nations report regarding custodial status of migrants at CECOT, and the recent decision to remove the 252 migrants sent from the U.S. to El Salvador to Venezuela under the prisoner exchange.
Asked at a status hearing in court last week whether the Justice Department would comply with the court's orders, DOJ lawyer Tiberius Davis said they would, "if it was a lawful order."
They also said they would likely seek an appeal from a higher court. (Fox News)
Today at my direction, @TheJusticeDept filed a misconduct complaint against U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg for making improper public comments about President Trump and his Administration.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 28, 2025
These comments have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will…