‘Woefully insufficient’: US judge seeks explanation on deportation flights from Trump admin

Boasberg gave the administration until noon on Thursday to either provide more details about the flights or argue that the information must remain secret for national security reasons. But the administration refused, calling the judge’s request “an unnecessary judicial fishing expedition.”

In response, Boasberg wrote that the Trump administration’s explanation was “woefully insufficient” and accused officials of “again evading their obligations” by simply repeating “the same general information about the flights.” He ordered the administration to explain why it did not comply with his directive, raising the possibility that officials could be held in contempt of court.

The Justice Department has argued that only written court orders need to be followed, not verbal instructions, and that the judge’s ruling could not apply to flights that had already left the US.

A spokesperson said on Thursday that the department “continues to believe that the court’s superfluous questioning of sensitive national security information is inappropriate judicial overreach”, as reported by Associated Press (AP).

An official from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the court that the administration needed more time to decide whether it would use the “state secrets privilege” to withhold the information. Boasberg has now ordered that a senior official involved in Cabinet discussions must submit a sworn statement by Friday. He also told the administration to confirm by Tuesday whether it would invoke the privilege.

As tensions rise, Trump and his allies have called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached. However, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected those demands, stating earlier this week, “Impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

(with inputs from AP)