Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor and ex-MSNBC legal analyst, asserts that President Donald Trump and his Department of Justice could soon face criminal contempt charges for ignoring U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg’s orders to stop recent deportations.
Last week, Trump invoked an 18th-century wartime act to facilitate the deportation of hundreds of immigrants to a prison in El Salvador, directly disregarding Judge Boasberg’s verbal order. He has subsequently demanded the impeachment of the judge, whom the White House described as a “Democrat activist.”
During an appearance on “The Dean Obeidallah Show” on Thursday, Kirschner discussed the potential implications of this situation.
“Having worked as a prosecutor for 30 years,” he explained to the SiriusXM radio host, “it’s unheard of to claim in court, ‘Judge, we don’t think this information you seek is relevant.’ Whose decision is that supposed to be? Certainly not yours! It’s up to the judge!”
“We should expect to hear the C-word soon — contempt,” Kirschner added. “What may start off as civil contempt is likely to evolve into criminal contempt.”
The openly defiant administration suggested to Boasberg in a court filing on Wednesday that he should be more “respectful,” which led the federal judge to grant them an additional 24 hours to provide more information regarding their non-compliance with his initial order.
The Justice Department dismissed Boasberg’s request for details about the deportation flights as “a minor dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding,” rather than acknowledging a potentially illegal disregard for a federal judge’s order.
“In my experience, I don’t recall attorneys ever telling judges, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ in writing!” Obeidallah, a former attorney, remarked to Kirschner. “I’m sure this is [U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi acting on behalf of Donald Trump.”
Steven Senne/Associated Press
On Friday, Trump insisted that he “didn’t sign” the document invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 that enabled the deportations — claiming that “other people handled it” — despite his name being clearly visible at the bottom.
This statement followed Trump’s unfounded claim just days earlier that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, used an autopen for numerous pardons that are now supposedly “void.”
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Kirschner anticipates that the situation may become more precarious for Trump.
“Here’s an interesting fact for our viewers,” he stated on Thursday. “A judge can appoint an independent prosecutor to handle a case only in instances of contempt of court for violating court orders. So brace yourselves, as things are about to get a lot bumpier.”
