The Justice Department said it is collecting ‘the most egregious examples’ to refer to Congress.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked federal prosecutors nationwide to identify examples of what it calls “judicial activism” for possible impeachment referrals to Congress, the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s clash with judges who have ruled against its agenda.
At a recent virtual meeting with leaders of the nation’s 93 U.S. attorney’s offices, department officials asked prosecutors to submit instances in which judges obstructed the government through adverse rulings. The call was first reported on Feb. 10 by Bloomberg Law citing two people familiar with the call.
A department spokesperson confirmed the effort, saying in a statement that the DOJ is collecting “the most egregious examples of this obstruction” to help Congress “rein in judges violating their oaths.”
“From refusing to sign criminal complaints and search warrants with clear probable cause, issuing incorrect evidentiary rulings and jury instructions, granting [temporary restraining orders] before the Government can respond and erroneously inserting themselves into the U.S. Attorney nominations process, the Trump Administration is facing unprecedented judicial activism from rogue judges who care more about making a name for themselves than acting as impartial arbiters of the law,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
Impeaching a federal judge is a two-step process. The House of Representatives must first approve articles of impeachment by a simple majority, after which the Senate holds a trial and must vote by a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the judge for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
With the Senate currently split 53–47, including two independents who caucus with Democrats, Republicans aligned with the administration would still need Democratic support to secure 67 votes to remove judges.
The most recent Republican-led impeachment push came in January. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, lawmakers called on the House to impeach Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over orders he signed in connection with former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s now-defunct investigations into President Donald Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
They also called for the removal of Maryland federal Judge Deborah Boardman, who sentenced the man convicted of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 to eight years in prison, followed by supervised release for life—short of the 30-year prison term prosecutors had requested. In explaining the sentence, the judge said she took the defendant’s self-identified transgender status into account.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the committee’s courts panel, followed up by asking House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a letter to move forward with impeachment proceedings against the two judges.
By Bill Pan
