Judge warns of possible 'consequences' after DOJ pushback on questions about deportation flights
The Department of Justice accused the judge of "continuing to beat a dead horse" by asking specific questions about deportations under a rarely used wartime act.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge Wednesday warned of the possibility of "consequences" after the Justice Department pushed back against his request for more information about the deportation flights that took off over the weekend after President Donald Trump invoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had ordered the Trump administration to submit answers to his questions about the timing of the deportation flights and custody handover of deportees, giving the government until noon Wednesday to respond.
The government submitted a filing Wednesday morning asking for a pause of Boasberg's order to answer his questions, which it contended could expose negotiations with foreign countries "to serious risk of micromanaged and unnecessary judicial fishing expeditions and potential public disclosure."
"Continuing to beat a dead horse solely for the sake of prying from the Government legally immaterial facts and wholly within a sphere of core functions of the Executive Branch is both purposeless and frustrating to the consideration of the actual legal issues at stake in this case," the Justice Department wrote in the filing. The lawyers also contended they would need more time to make their legal arguments.
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