Overview
- The D.C. Circuit, in a 2–1 ruling Tuesday, granted a rare writ of mandamus and directed Chief Judge James Boasberg to terminate his criminal-contempt probe.
- The court said Boasberg’s temporary restraining order did not clearly bar transfers to Salvadoran custody and that forcing testimony would intrude on national-security and foreign-affairs deliberations.
- Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented, warning the decision undercuts trial courts’ ability to enforce their orders through contempt.
- The dispute stems from March 2025 deportation flights under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, with then–Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem identified as authorizing transfers of Venezuelan men later held in El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
- Lawyers for the migrants can seek further review by the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court, and related litigation over the removals continues in a case that highlights separation-of-powers limits on probing executive decision making.