Veteran trial attorney and legal analyst Alan Dershowitz predicted Wednesday that a federal judge’s effort to appoint a special prosecutor to pursue criminal contempt charges against the Trump administration is likely to fail.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, recently issued a temporary hold on President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The act grants the federal government broad authority to detain and deport individuals linked to foreign criminal or terrorist organizations. The Trump administration invoked it to target members of Tren de Aragua, a violent gang that originated in Venezuela and saw rapid growth in the U.S. during the Biden era.
The judge attempted to order the Trump administration to reverse a deportation flight already en route to El Salvador, carrying MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gang members. El Salvador had agreed to house the Tren de Aragua members in its supermax prison after Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro refused to take them back. Although Boasberg’s order was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court, the left-leaning judge stated in court earlier this week that he still intends to pursue contempt charges against Trump administration officials for what he described as their “failure” to comply with his impractical directive to recall planes already in flight.
Reacting to the unusual development, Alan Dershowitz argued that not only is Judge Boasberg’s request likely to fail, but that Boasberg himself should be held in contempt. Dershowitz pointed to the “vague” and unenforceable nature of the judge’s directive, noting it lacked a clear, binding order required for holding officials in contempt.
“He issues an order first orally, in which he talks about bringing the planes back. You can’t just bring planes back. That’s not easy. That might not be safe. And then he issues a written order, which is the binding order. Look, I’ve been practicing law for 60 years, and what I was always taught is you follow the judge’s written order. And as I understand it, there was no written order requiring bringing back these folks,” the Harvard Law professor emeritus told Newsmax.
“He’s flexing his muscle. He will be reversed on appeal. The United States Supreme Court is not going to allow criminal contempt against an administration for violating as vague an order as was allegedly violated in this case,” Dershowitz continued. That said, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) introduced articles of impeachment against the “rogue” judge last month. “By thwarting President Trump’s lawful efforts to deport violent illegal alien gangsters, Judge Boasberg created a constitutional crisis. He is unfit for judicial office,” the congressman wrote in a social media post.
