Speaking in a contentious interview on CNN about US District Court Judge James E. Boasberg’s attempts to hold up the Trump Administration’s deportation agenda by issuing an injunction on the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) vowed that “all options” are on the table.
As background, Rep. Jordan’s March 19 interview on CNN about the matter came in the context of the judge’s ruling days earlier that the planes transporting MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangsters to prison in El Salvador had to turn around and bring them back to America, an order with which the Trump Administration did not comply. President Trump and others then demanded Judge Boasberg’s impeachment, a call with which Rep. Jordan appeared to agree.
Beginning things, CNN host Kasie Hunt asked Rep. Jordan if he thinks Judge Boasberg ought be impeached over the terrible decision. She asked, “So, I just want to start with a simple question. Do you believe, as President Trump does, that Judge Boasberg should be impeached?”
Responding, Rep. Jordan explained that there is a clear case here for a successful impeachment, given the political nature of his ruling. He said, “Well, normally, as Chief Justice Roberts has pointed out, the remedy for bad decisions is the appellate court. But it seems to me you may have something a little different here. This judge’s decision was so ridiculous, it seems to be political.”
Continuing, Rep. Jordan then explained Judge Boasberg’s various past political rulings and involvements in past political decisions, saying, “And then, when you add to it the history of Judge Boasberg, his work with the FISA court back in the whole Trump-Russia baloney, that whole, you know, fake collusion thing that they talked about, the Democrats talked about forever, and then, of course, his sentencing of Kevin Clinesmith, the guy who lied to the FISA court, altered a document back during that same time frame, I think you might have here a judge who’s acting in a political fashion. That is a different question.”
Still not done, Rep. Jordan explained that the Judiciary Committee would do whatever it needed to to reign in the woke judge, telling Hunt, “And so, for us Republicans, and I think folks on the Judiciary Committee, all options are still on the table. We’re going to do some research, we’re going to dig into this, and we’re going to find out.”
Rep. Jordan also noted that Judge Boasberg’s decision was absurd on its face, saying, “And then, I think when you really step back, Kasie, and look at how stupid the decision was by this judge, I mean, he basically said — well, not basically, he did say, turn the plane around, bring back gang members, hardened criminals, who’ve done all kinds of bad things, who are here illegally. Turn the plane around and bring those bad guys back to the country, I think just on its face, this is ridiculous. And so, it sure looks like the judge is acting in a political fashion.”
"*" indicates required fields
Watch Rep. Jordan here:
Interrupting the congressman, Hunt asked whether he thinks what Boasberg did is actually an impeachable offense, asking, “OK, yes. I completely understand the argument that people are making about whether the planes should — whether these people should have been deported or not. I want to get a little bit more clarity on what you’re saying. What specifically has Judge Boasberg done that you believe is an impeachable offense under the constitutional description of high crimes and misdemeanors?”
Rep. Jordan said the woke judge was in violation of the law and explained why, saying, “All I’m saying is if you’re acting in a political fashion and not just, you know, following the law — ruling on the law. And I would argue that, frankly, just his ruling in and of itself. Remember, the Constitution is pretty clear. Article 2, Section 1, very first sentence says, power in the executive branch shall be vested in a president of the United States. The president has the authority here.”
Further building on that, Rep. Jordan explained that Judge Boasberg might have broken another law as well, saying, “Second, he followed the statute predatory incursion, and that’s — that he followed the statute. And then, third, the president told the country he was going to do this. It’s not like it’s a surprise to anyone, let alone this judge. He campaigned on it and said he was going to do it. So, I think when you put all that together, that’s what makes this decision look so political on the part of Judge Boasberg.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video