A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered an end to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s criminal contempt inquiry into Trump administration officials over last year’s deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador, delivering a second major rebuke to Boasberg and foreclosing further pursuit of the case.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a writ of mandamus and directed that the contempt proceedings be “terminated,” finding Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, had committed a “clear abuse of discretion” by continuing to press forward. A writ of mandamus is a rare and extraordinary order from a higher court directing a lower court or government official to stop exceeding their authority.
