6th Circuit judge protects Boasberg from DOJ investigation
A judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to protect James Boasberg, the controversial anti-Trump judge in Washington who once ordered jets carrying illegal alien criminals to be returned to the U.S. and was part of Jack Smith’s agenda to investigate and charge the president, from a Department of Justice investigation.
It is Jeffrey Sutton, the chief of the 6th Circuit bench, who dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint filed by the DOJ against Boasberg.
A report from the Washington Examiner said the claims of misbehavior were “quietly” dismissed by Sutton last in December, but the order was not made public until just days ago.
His seven-page ruling claimed the DOJ didn’t meet his standard required for a “misconduct” finding.
Boasberg repeatedly has tried to overrule the White House on a long list of issues concerning illegal alien criminals in the United States and their arrests and deportations.
He tried to prevent the president from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans. He once ordered jets carrying illegal alien criminals out of the U.S., which already were in international airspace, to bring the criminals back.
A judicial misconduct complaint against Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of D.C. was dismissed after an appeals court judge found insufficient evidence of bias against the Trump administration. https://t.co/tpZCTGuiYU
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 1, 2026
He’s also the judge who made improper remarks during a closed-door judicial conference last year in which he accused the White House of being ready to refuse to follow court orders.
Technically, since the Trump administration had cases pending before him, that could be considered an improper comment about a case participant.
The report explained, “Boasberg warned Chief Justice John Roberts and other federal judges that the Trump administration 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.”
Sutton claimed the DOJ didn’t produce evidence in support of the allegation, although Boasberg’s challenges to the president had been reported widely.
Sutton claimed the DOJ simply didn’t include an attachment.
And Sutton said even if he assumed Boasberg undermined the president’s authority, that “would not amount to misconduct,” the report said.
Boasberg also has threatened the White House with criminal contempt proceedings for failing to do what he demanded, and his actions have prompted numerous suggestions that he be impeached.
It’s not the only complaint against Boasberg, who was involved in the scandalous hunt for telephone records of members of Congress, likely a violation of the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, by Jack Smith, who was assigned to carry several of the Democrats’ lawfare cases against Trump.
They all collapsed when he was re-elected.
According to the Daily Caller News Foundation, the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) said its complaint was improperly dismissed by Sutton in December, arguing in their appeal that he did not follow the proper procedures.
“We believe it was totally inappropriate to do so and are filing this petition for review by the judicial council for a review of the opinion,” CASA Director James Fitzpatrick said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We believe Boasberg has violated several canons of the judicial code, that his actions collectively show a bias against the Trump administration and its officials, and that he should be investigated and disciplined accordingly for his outrageous, politically biased conduct.”
Boasberg stands accused of “political bias” against Trump.
CASA is asking the 6th Circuit Judicial Council to review Sutton’s dismissal.
Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg in November after his role in approving nondisclosure orders for the Arctic Frost investigation, which became Smith’s 2020 election case against President Donald Trump, was revealed. Gill also filed articles of impeachment in March after Boasberg ordered the government to turn around planes carrying alleged gang members to El Salvador.
Watchdog: Ethics complaint against Obama judge was not properly investigated