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By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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Donald Trump has expressed his anger that Judge James Boasberg is overseeing a lawsuit against the president's administration for accidentally leaking defense secrets.
Boasberg is the same judge who has threatened the Trump administration with contempt of court for refusing to release information about the deportation of suspected gang members to an El Salvador prison.
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Why It Matters
Trump's statements continue his long trend of claiming that the legal system is rigged against him, which he used as a platform throughout the 2024 presidential campaign.
Newsweek sought email comment on Thursday from the Department of Defense and the offices of Judge James Boasberg and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
What to Know
In the early hours of March 27, Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social, that Boasberg should not handle the lawsuit over the alleged leaking of military secrets.
"How disgraceful is it that 'Judge' James Boasberg has just been given a fourth 'Trump Case,' something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE," Trump wrote.
'Highly Conflicted'
"There is no way for a Republican, especially a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, to win before him. He is Highly Conflicted, not only in his hatred of me — Massive Trump Derangement Syndrome! — but also, because of disqualifying family conflicts."
"Boasberg, who is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court, seems to be grabbing the 'Trump Cases' all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way. Is there still such a thing as the 'wheel,' where the Judges are chosen fairly, and at random?"
'Corruption and Radicalism'
"The good news is that it probably doesn't matter, because it is virtually impossible for me to get an Honest Ruling in D.C. Our Nation's Courts are broken, with New York and D.C. being the most preeminent of all in their Corruption and Radicalism. There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late!" Trump added.
The watchdog group American Oversight is suing the Trump administration in Boasberg's court after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly used the encrypted, auto-deleting app Signal to coordinate sensitive military operations.
Pentagon officials issued a warning about the use of Signal on March 18, just days after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included on a group chat about the imminent bombing of Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Yemen Bombings
The bombings were in response to Houthi attacks on Israeli and Western ships off the Yemen coast, which followed the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Boasberg is also known for his standoff with the Trump administration over the deportation of a group of alleged Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador prison.
Deportation Case
Boasberg warned Department of Justice (DOJ) officials on March 15 that the group should not be deported to El Salvador until he had considered the full facts of the case.
The men were deported that same day and Boasberg has spent more than a week trying to find out if the Trump administration had violated his court order.
He also suggested in court that the Trump administration may be in contempt of court and expressed his frustration at the DOJ for its refusal to answer his questions.
What People Are Saying
After Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached during the El Salvador case, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare rebuke of Trump.
"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Roberts said in a public statement. "The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."
What Happens Next
Boasberg will give the Trump administration an opportunity to respond to American Oversight's allegation that it was not preserving defense department records and will then decide whether to impose an injunction.
Such an injunction would prevent the defendants from using the Signal application for official government business. He might also sanction them for failing to preserve government records.
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