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An appeals court ruled Tuesday that a federal judge must stop his “intrusive” contempt investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration for failing to comply with an order last year to stop deportation flights that included taking Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.

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The majority opinion of a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals said Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion by going ahead with a criminal contempt proceeding over the deportation flights in March 2025.  The Trump administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to end the contempt proceedings, the court’s majority opinion wrote.

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“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg’s March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”

A win for Trump

The ruling is being seen as a victory for Trump’s deportation campaign. The administration has cast Boasberg, who was nominated by former president Barack Obama, as an activist judge who abused his authority to interfere with White House policy.

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A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, however, said the panel’s opinion is “a blow to the rule of law.

“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” Lee Gelernt said in a statement.

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Temporary ban

Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order in March 2025 that stopped the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under a powerful 18th-century wartime law.

Shortly thereafter, some migrants were sent by plane to El Salvador — a decision made by then-Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, the administration said.

Boasberg claimed the Trump administration hurried the migrants out in defiance of his order, adding he gave it “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but said no response they gave satisfied him.

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Administration hits back

The Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg last year, saying he was making improper comments about the administration. Trump himself called for Boasberg’s impeachment, earning him a rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

This latest panel decision fell along party lines. Panel members Rao and Circuit Judge Justin Walker were Trump appointees. Judge J. Michelle Childs, a nominee of former Democratic U.S. president Joe Biden, dissented, saying that the panel majority stomped on Boasberg’s authority and will have consequences for future litigants.

“Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made,” Childs wrote.

— With files from The Associated Press.

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