{"id":2562374,"date":"2026-02-02T14:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-dismisses-doj-misconduct-complaint-against-boasberg\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T14:11:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:11:36","slug":"judge-dismisses-doj-misconduct-complaint-against-boasberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-dismisses-doj-misconduct-complaint-against-boasberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge dismisses DOJ misconduct complaint against Boasberg"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-dismisses-doj-misconduct-complaint-against-boasberg%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2562374&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judicial council dismissed a Department of Justice misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, finding the DOJ failed to provide evidence to support its accusations. Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th Circuit issued the Dec. 19, 2025 order (made public recently), saying the complaint relied on an attachment that was never produced and otherwise rested on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/morningstar-aims-to-eliminate-anti-israel-bias-from-esg-ratings-with-new-report\/\" title=\"Morningstar&#039;s new report seeks to eradicate anti-Israel bias in ESG ratings\">uncorroborated media reports<\/a>. The DOJ had alleged Boasberg made improper remarks at a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >closed-door judicial conference<\/a> \u2014 warning Chief Justice John Roberts and other judges that the Trump management risked provoking a constitutional crisis \u2014 days before he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-who-blocked-deportation-flights-defies-logic-tom-homan\/\" title=\"... who blocked deportation flights \u2018defies logic\u2019: Tom Homan\">blocked deportation flights<\/a> to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Sutton also held that,even if Boasberg had made the comments,such candid concerns about executive compliance expressed at judicial conferences would not constitute misconduct. The matter had been reassigned from the D.C. Circuit to the 6th Circuit to avoid conflicts with related appeals; the article notes broader tensions after Boasberg found probable cause of criminal contempt in the administration\u2019s handling of the flights and that the DOJ has pursued separate complaints against other judges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Judge dismisses DOJ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/afl-calls-for-probe-of-judge-who-barred-dei-funding-freeze\/\" title=\"AFL Calls For Probe Of ... Who Barred DEI Funding Freeze\">judicial misconduct complaint<\/a> against James Boasberg<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tpd-featured-video\">\n<div id=\"Brid_21699\" class=\"brid\" style=\"width:1280;height:720;\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A federal appeals court judge quietly dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> filed against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, dealing a setback to the Trump administration&rsquo;s effort to challenge one of its most prominent judicial critics in the fight over deportations to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/el-salvador\/\">El Salvador<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint was rejected on Dec. 19, 2025, by&nbsp;Jeffrey Sutton, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, although the order did not become public until this weekend. Sutton concluded that the DOJ failed to back up its allegations with evidence and fell well short of the standard required for a misconduct finding, according to a seven-page decision.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4442921\/melania-documentary-reception-box-office-disconnect-critics-audiences\/\">Melania documentary reception and box office reflects &#8216;disconnect&#8217; of critics and audiences: Joe Concha<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4442686\/pam-bondi-two-more-arrests-cities-church-ice-protest\/\">Bondi announces two more arrests from Cities Church ICE protest<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4442878\/utah-gop-lawmaker-introduces-bill-would-make-livestock-drug-available-pharmacies\/\">Utah GOP lawmaker introduces bill that would make livestock drug available at pharmacies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, stands for a portrait at E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, March 16, 2023. (Carolyn Van Houten\/The Washington Post via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The complaint centered on&nbsp;James Boasberg, the chief judge of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-legal-team-for-impeachment-defense-after-previous-team-collapsed\/\" title=\"... Announces New Legal Team For Impeachment Defense After Previous Team Collapsed\">federal district court<\/a> in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, who repeatedly clashed with President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> administration last year over its use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ&rsquo;s complaint accused Boasberg of making improper remarks during a closed-door judicial conference in March 2025. According to the filing, Boasberg warned Chief Justice&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-roberts\/\">John Roberts<\/a>&nbsp;and other federal judges that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> risked provoking a constitutional crisis by disregarding court orders. The meeting occurred just days before Boasberg issued an order blocking deportation flights the administration was carrying out under the centuries-old wartime law.<\/p>\n<p>Sutton said the department never produced the evidence it claimed supported that allegation. Although the complaint referenced an attachment purporting to document Boasberg&rsquo;s comments, no such material was provided, and the Justice Department did not supply it, even after being contacted by the court.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the absence of the attachment, the complaint offers no source for what, if anything, the subject judge said,&rdquo; Sutton wrote, adding that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov\/internet\/judicial_complaints\/files\/2025\/06-25-90173(Chad.MO.pdf\">filing failed to establish the context<\/a>, timing, or precise substance of the alleged remarks.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also leaned on media coverage discussing the accusation, but Sutton dismissed that as insufficient. &ldquo;A recycling of unadorned allegations with no reference to a source does not corroborate them,&rdquo; he wrote, noting that repetition alone does not convert speculation into proof.<\/p>\n<p>Even assuming Boasberg made the comments attributed to him, Sutton said, they would not amount to misconduct. He emphasized that judicial conferences are designed to foster &ldquo;candid conversations&rdquo; among judges about institutional concerns, including judicial independence and respect for court rulings. Expressions of anxiety about executive compliance, Sutton concluded, fall squarely within the range of permissible topics at such meetings.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint was initially submitted to&nbsp;Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Because that court was already handling appeals tied to Boasberg&rsquo;s deportation rulings, Srinivasan asked Roberts to move the matter to another circuit. Roberts reassigned it to the 6th Circuit&rsquo;s Judicial Council, which Sutton leads.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3484700\/doj-complaint-judge-boasberg-undermining-integrity-judiciary\/\">DOJ FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST JUDGE BOASBERG FOR UNDERMINING &lsquo;INTEGRITY&rsquo; OF JUDICIARY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Boasberg became a focal point of Republican anger last year after ordering the Trump administration to halt and reverse deportation flights bound for El Salvador in March. He later found probable cause to believe that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3382104\/judge-james-boasberg-cause-for-contempt-trump-administration-migrant-flights\/\">administration officials acted in criminal contempt<\/a> by ignoring his directive, accusing the government of showing a &ldquo;willful disregard&rdquo; for the court&rsquo;s authority. Trump and some GOP lawmakers <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4410097\/ted-cruz-urges-house-to-impeach-judges-boasberg-and-boardman\/\">openly floated impeachment<\/a>, though no serious effort has yet advanced.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ has also pursued a separate misconduct complaint against&nbsp;Ana Reyes, another judge on the same court, over her handling of litigation challenging Trump&rsquo;s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> has since allowed that policy to take effect while the case continues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge tosses DOJ complaint against Boasberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2562375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AP25079589477125.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[72608,7076,72607,72609,72606],"class_list":["post-2562374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-complaint-dismissed","tag-doj","tag-judge-boasberg-2","tag-judicial-ethics-2","tag-judicial-misconduct-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AP25079589477125.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2562374"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2562378,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562374\/revisions\/2562378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2562375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2562374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2562374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2562374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}