Judge Boasberg considers holding Trump admin officials in contempt over deportation flights

US District Judge James Boasberg is considering whether to hold Trump administration officials in contempt of court after three deportation flights filled with suspected MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang members were sent to El Salvador as the judge gave an order to have the flights turn around. The three that made it to El Salvador were in progress when the order was written.

Boasberg claimed the administration appeared to act “in bad faith,” by deporting the flights full of suspected gang members while legal proceedings were still being arranged to review the legality of the removals. Trump had the removals go forward with the invoking of the Alien Enemies Act.

In a hearing on Thursday, Boasberg said he is weighing penalties he could impose should he hold officials in contempt for the deportation flights that were carried out on March 15. Boasberg did not, however, name any specific officials. One such penalty could be ordering the administration to return the foreign nationals back to the US, according to a report by Politico.

The Obama-appointed judge raised concerns about the Trump administration’s behavior as well as officials’ refusal to give him a timeline on how events played out before and after he gave the order.

The Trump administration argued in a previous court hearing that they had followed Boasberg’s written order, which had occurred after he gave an oral order for the deportations to stop.

Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judged, took the action with the order as part of a broader legal fight over Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which has usually been used in wartime. It has been used three other times in history aside from Trump’s invocation of the act in March.

While it is rare for an executive branch official to be held in contempt, it has happened in the past.