Trump admin wins in court

An appeals court panel has thrown out a criminal contempt finding against President Donald Trump’s administration. The case centered on its handling of deportations to a prison in El Salvador.

Clash over deportations

The case stems from a legal standoff between the Trump administration and U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg. Despite Boasberg’s directive to return deported Venezuelan migrants to the United States, flights went ahead. They were subsequently sent to a high-security prison in El Salvador. The judge found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt. Boasberg cited what he viewed as a defiance of court authority. 

Appeal court ruling

In a 2-1 decision, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled that Judge Boasberg had overstepped his judicial powers. The ruling found that he had infringed on the executive branch’s authority over foreign affairs. Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both appointed by Trump, backed the unsigned majority opinion, concluding the judge lacked the authority to intervene.

Opinions split on ruling

“The district court’s order attempts to control the Executive Branch’s conduct of foreign affairs, an area in which a court’s power is at its lowest ebb,” Rao wrote. Judge Cornelia Pillard, appointed by former President Barack Obama, dissented: “The majority does an exemplary judge a grave disservice by overstepping its bounds to upend his effort to vindicate the judicial authority that is our shared trust,” she wrote.

The outcome 

The 250 Venezuelan migrants in question were eventually released from El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center as part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. The Trump administration has continued to deny any wrongdoing, arguing that Boasberg’s directive to return the planes was issued verbally in court, but not in a formal written order.

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