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A D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered federal judge James Boasberg to end his criminal contempt investigation against the Trump administration, related to the flights that transported Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March 2025, according to Telemundo.
The ruling, which was a split decision of two to one, was written by circuit judge Neomi Rao —appointed by Trump— and supported by Judge Justin Walker, who was also appointed by the president. Judge J. Michelle Childs, appointed by former President Joe Biden, issued a dissenting vote of 80 pages.
The court found that Boasberg, the chief judge of the district court of Washington D.C., abused his discretion by continuing with the contempt criminal proceedings. Rao wrote that the government has a "clear and undeniable" right to put an end to that investigation.
The legal error on which this contempt proceeding is based demonstrates why further investigation by the district court constitutes an abuse of discretion. Contempt of court is only applicable in cases of violation of a clear and specific order. Boasberg's order from March 2025 did not clearly and specifically prohibit the Government from transferring the plaintiffs to Salvadoran custody.
The case has a long judicial history. In an earlier stage of the process, Boasberg documented a deliberate ignorance on the part of the administration regarding its orders in a 46-page report. Subsequently, a different panel from the same circuit overturned that initial ruling, but this did not prevent the judge from reactivating the criminal investigation by summoning testimonies from officials of the administration.
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