Trump DOJ considers invoking state secrets privilege against judge who vetoed deportation flights

Attorney General Pam Bondi is losing her patience with U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for first blocking the Trump administration's deportation of alleged gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and then ordering her to explain, on short notice, how it didn't violate his order to turn around planes already in the air.

DOJ is considering whether to invoke state secrets in regard to some information sought by Boasberg but his 21-hour turnaround time is too short, says a filing signed by Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche and others.

They accused the President Obama nominee of "digressive micromanagement" and "derail[ing]" the case through "distraction of the specific facts surrounding the movements of an airplane," demanding Boasberg back off until a federal appeals court intervenes, Fox News reports.

"The Court has now spent more time trying to ferret out information about the Government’s flight schedules and relations with foreign countries than it did in investigating the facts before certifying the class action in this case," the filing says.

The judge had given DOJ until noon Wednesday to answer under seal when the plane took off and where, when it left U.S. airspace, when it landed "in which foreign country" and if it made "more than one stop," when individuals subject "solely" to President Trump's order were transferred out of U.S. custody and how many people were aboard solely on the basis of that order.

"The underlying premise of these orders ... is that the Judicial Branch is superior to the Executive Branch, particularly on non-legal matters involving foreign affairs and national security ... and the Court’s continued intrusions into the prerogatives of the Executive Branch, especially on a non-legal and factually irrelevant matter, should end," DOJ's filing says.

Boasberg responded that DOJ's argument was "at first blush ... not persuasive" but gave the feds an extra day to answer his questions or invoke state secrets. He rebuked DOJ for how it characterized his questions, saying he's trying to "determine if the Government deliberately flouted" his orders "and, if so, what the consequences should be."

President Trump ramped up his calls to impeach Boasberg after Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked the proposal.