Appeals court intervenes in Boasberg contempt efforts, punting matter to 2026

A panel of judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has delayed proceedings in U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's contempt inquiry until 2026, instructing the litigants to opine on the authority of the court to pursue contempt at all.

Boasberg has overseen a challenge involving the Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Boasberg had planned contempt hearings this week, though the Department of Justice appealed to the upper court and even moved to boot him from the case altogether.

In the Monday order, the judges set a Jan. 5, 2026 deadline for responses addressing the question of the court's authority to pursue so-called "indirect contempt."

The matter of the actual deportations has already reached the Supreme Court, which permitted the administration to invoke the Alien Enemies Act.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.