DOJ asks appeals court to block judge’s contempt inquiry in mass deportation case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has asked an appeals court to block a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March. In a court filing Friday, the department also sought Chief Judge James Boasberg’s removal from the case. The department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rule on its requests before Monday, when Boasberg is scheduled hear testimony from a former government attorney who filed a whistleblower complaint. The judge is trying to determine if Trump administration officials should be prosecuted for willfully defying his March 15 order blocking the Venezuelan migrants’ deportations to El Salvador.
