Justice Dept. Seeks Censure of Judge, Widening Fight With Judiciary

The Justice Department has filed a misconduct complaint against a federal judge who has ruled against President Trump’s deportation plans, the latest move in the administration’s broad pressure campaign on judges it believes are blocking the president’s priorities.

Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media on Monday that the department had filed the complaint against Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, “for making improper public comments” about the president and his administration.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, cited comments it said Judge Boasberg made in March before Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and other judges at the Judicial Conference of the United States, which oversees the administration of the federal courts.

The complaint said that Judge Boasberg had told the gathering that he believed the Trump administration would “disregard rulings of federal courts” and trigger “a constitutional crisis.” His remarks, the complaint said, amounted to an attempt to “improperly influence Chief Justice Roberts” and have “undermined the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

The Times could not independently verify the comments cited in the complaint. They were reported by The Federalist, a conservative website, which said it had obtained notes summarizing the closed-door meeting.

Judge Boasberg’s office did not immediately return a request for comment. He has been at the center of the administration’s attacks on the judiciary since ruling in March that it could not deport Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act. That ruling came days after the Judicial Conference meeting.

After the Trump administration proceeded with its plan to deport the migrants anyway, Judge Boasberg said the administration had defied his order. He tried to open a contempt investigation into the officials involved, but the proceedings were paused in April by the federal appeals court in Washington, where they have languished for months.

While the administration has mounted several attacks on the judiciary, including a highly unusual suit against 15 federal judges in Maryland, Judge Boasberg has been a particular focus of the president’s ire. Mr. Trump called for him to be impeached over the immigration case, an idea that was immediately rejected by Chief Justice Roberts, who issued a rare public statement saying impeachment was “not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Two months later, the Supreme Court kept in place an appeals court’s block on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, which it has sought to use to deport migrants it accused of being gang members.