Judge Boasberg: Trump May Be Held in Criminal Contempt
What happens when a President believes he can operate above the Constitution, above the law, and above the courts? According to Judge James Boasberg, you get criminal contempt.
In a stunning and unprecedented decision, Chief Judge Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a 46-page opinion that reads more like a constitutional thunderclap than a judicial order. At the center of this legal firestorm? The Trump administration’s secretive deportation of immigrants to El Salvador — in direct violation of a court order.
And not just any immigrants. These were asylum seekers and detainees swept up under a legally dubious proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act. They were sent—without due process—to CECOT, the Salvadoran mega-prison notorious for its harsh conditions and questionable human rights practices.
Even after Judge Boasberg issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring such transfers, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security didn’t just ignore it — they accelerated their efforts. Two planes left Texas. The administration knew the order existed. And still, they flew the detainees out of U.S. airspace, landed them in Honduras, and then moved them into Salvadoran custody.
It gets worse.
Court Orders? Trump Shrugs.
The sequence of events is almost cinematic in its brazenness. At 6:45 p.m. on March 15, Judge Boasberg issued an oral order clarifying that detainees already on flights had to be returned to the United States immediately. “Whether turning around a plane or not [dis]embarking anyone on the plane,” he said, “this is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately.”
And what did the Trump administration do?
They landed the planes in Honduras. Waited. Then sent the immigrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison — even after Boasberg’s order had been formalized in writing. As the court later wrote, “The Government did not stop the ongoing removal process.”
What’s more shocking is that they didn’t just violate the order — they tried to hide it. When the hearing resumed that evening, Trump’s legal team claimed they had no flight information to provide. But the planes had already landed. Boasberg noted that “the Government surprisingly represented that it still had no flight details to share” — a statement that proved patently falseshow_public_doc.
“Oopsie... Too Late 😂😂”
While U.S. courts were frantically working to uphold the rule of law, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele tweeted mockingly, “Oopsie... too late 😂😂,” and Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio gleefully retweeted it. The not-so-subtle message? Trump’s administration knew what they were doing — and they did it anyway.
Boasberg was not amused.
“The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders,” he wrote. “To permit such officials to freely 'annul the judgments of the courts of the United States' would not just destroy the rights acquired under those judgments; it would make a solemn mockery of the Constitution itself”show_public_doc.
9-0: Even SCOTUS Agrees on Due Process
In a rare show of unanimity, all nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that people targeted for removal under the Alien Enemies Act are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their deportation before they are removed. In other words, due process is not optional. Trump doesn’t get to skip it because he deems someone dangerous.
Yet Trump’s team, as Boasberg points out, “offered various imaginative arguments” trying to claim they technically complied with the order. The judge’s response? “None of their positions withstands scrutiny”show_public_doc.
What Happens Next?
Boasberg didn’t immediately drop the contempt hammer — but he’s holding it in his hand.
He’s given the administration a choice: purge the contempt by returning those unlawfully deported — or face the legal consequences.
That could mean criminal contempt proceedings. And yes, that includes prison time for those responsible.
Boasberg spelled it out plainly:
“In the event that Defendants do not choose to purge their contempt... the Court will proceed to identify the individual(s) responsible... and request that the contempt be prosecuted”show_public_doc.
Translation: If Trump’s team doesn’t bring these people back, the judge is coming for heads — and he might not stop at civil sanctions.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just about immigration policy or partisan politics. This is about the fundamental question: Do laws apply to everyone — or only to some?
When a sitting president — or his administration — can secretly defy a court order and laugh about it on social media, the danger isn’t just to immigrants. It’s to the entire constitutional framework that separates democracy from autocracy.
If this precedent holds — if Trump gets away with it — what stops a future president from ignoring any court order they don’t like? What stops the White House from detaining critics, judges, or journalists and quietly shipping them off to foreign allies under the guise of “national security”?
Judge Boasberg made the stakes clear: “So fatal a result must be deprecated by all.”
Let’s be real: This is the moment where accountability must prevail. Otherwise, the next time a president wants to erase someone’s rights, the flight won’t just be to El Salvador. It’ll be to a future where due process is a myth, and the Constitution is just a punchline.
So yes — “Oopsie” may be the tweet of the year. But if justice means anything anymore, it might just become the caption under someone's mugshot.
April 19th Will Be A Day of Reckoning The People Will Be Heard. Everyday, since Trump’s unwelcome return to the White House, a fresh bucketful of effluent flows from the Oval Office. The mad wanna-be king and his infamous black Sharpie have been pumping out an endless assault on democracy, via the mountainous stack of Executive Orders prepared by the Heritage Foundation’s 920 page guidelines in Project 2025. None of this should come as a surprise, except to a few of his unsuspecting MAGA cult members, who by now are starting to feel some of the ill effects of the Trump 2.0 revenge tour. In his thirst for retribution, Trump has lain siege to almost all the bastions of civil society. His narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies are the cruel bullying tactics of an insignificant and insecure man. One who despite his many false claims of extensive wealth and savvy business acumen, is still regarded as an outlier by the old money societal set. Trump has always demanded loyalty and adoration from the peons that surround him, but his rule by fear has left him as emotionally isolated in adult life, as he was during his childhood. Since his youth, his heartless father and his ruthless mentor Roy Cohn have tutored Trump that winning at all costs is the most important achievement in life. That it doesn’t matter how many people you betray, humiliate or swindle as long as your greed is momentarily satiated. Despite his upbringing of worshipping the almighty dollar above all else, Trump never fully developed much credible business skill. He has been bankrupt 6 times, including 2 casinos, which is an unheard of feat in that lucrative business. Many of his business forays from Trump Steaks to the fake Trump University, have been penalized and revealed as con games. The Trump family are forbidden from operating a charity in New York, due to fraud. Earning money legally has never been Trump’s forte. In fact, he has made a profession out of testing the elasticity of the rule of law. Whenever he encountered difficulties with obtaining permits or labour for his grand building schemes, Trump sought assistance from New York’s Italian mob. During the 1980s, when banks finally saw through his self-inflated financial charade, he turned to money laundering for the Russian mob, to finance his garish lifestyle. Somehow, despite his questionable past and non-existent ethics, he managed to secure the Republican nomination and elevate his crooked ass to the highest office in the land in 2016. By spewing racism, hate and decrying immigrants as vermin, he endeared himself to the fringe factions that encompass MAGA. For the next 4 years, America was subjected to rule by the least classy man to ever hold the office of president. His entire term in office was tainted by cruel policies and misguided management, resulting in 2 impeachment attempts and countless other court challenges. Trump’s term in office only furthered the divisions between U.S. citizens. Even when he lost the 2020 election, the public’s collective sigh of relief was quickly stifled by the realization that he wasn’t going anywhere. His false claims of a stolen election and his fomenting of the January 6th insurrection were just the beginning. For the next 4 years Trump’s despised traitorous image dominated the daily news cycle, as a constant irritating reminder of his malignant character. Once again, America and the world find themselves under the thumb of a this deranged coward, who is intent on destroying all that is good. Trump immediately reminded us of his criminality as soon as he returned to the Oval Office, by pardoning the 1500 treasonous perpetrators of the J6 assault on the nation’s capital. The onslaught of E.O.s, aimed at neutering every government agency by removing any official that would defy his illegal orders, further demonstrated his utter contempt for the rule of law. Emboldened by the brain trust of the nefarious Heritage Foundation, Trump set out to effectively eliminate any obstacle to his supreme power. Through threats and intimidation he has cowered much of the judiciary. The judges who have defied him have simply been ignored and discounted in smear campaigns calling for impeachment. If unchecked, the detainment and persecution of minorities and foreign students will continue, as will the demonization of immigrants. The future holds the promise that anyone who opposes the current regime, will be deported to gulags on foreign soil, without due process or recourse. The early capitulation by corporations, law firms and academic institutions has only added fuel to the fire threatening to incinerate the American experiment. The gutting of federal oversight and law enforcement agencies will serve to remove all restraints against the destruction of civil society. The contemptuous dismantling of charitable programs and environmental agencies will turn America into another tin-pot dictatorship intent on raping and pillaging the natural wonders of the U.S. and its neighbours. While Trump is focussed on amassing a fortune in crypto grift and bribes from foreign countries and business executives alike, he has released the scourge of DOGE to further consolidate his grip on power. The incalculable amount of data harvesting being done by Musk and his minions is the greatest threat to national security the country has ever seen. That Russia and perhaps China has access to the hoards of confidential information on every U.S. citizens via Musk, is a chilling realization. None of this is being done to enhance efficiency of government, but rather to destroy democracy from within. Unless they are stopped soon, Trump will join his dictator peers in ruling over America with an iron fist. Tomorrow the people speak. Their voices will be amplified by outrage at the indignities inflicted upon them by a cancerous administration seeking to render the constitution null and void. The thunderous echo of their disgust will be heard. They will scream out loud for the indignities inflicted upon Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the countless other innocents being unjustly persecuted. They will make their stand in defence of the sacred rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.They are not the left or the right. They are the righteous, and they will defy Trump and his cabal of sycophant loyalists, who seek to condemn them to servitude. They will engage in a protest that may well shape the future of the United States of America, as well as the democratic countries of the world. I wish them Godspeed and extend my sincerest gratitude for their unwavering dedication and their steadfast perseverance. Thanks for reading john king! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.