US Court Ends Contempt Proceeding in Trump Deportations Case
Buses arrive to transfer deported individuals from the US to the Terrorism Containment Center (CECOT) maximum security prison, in this photo released by the El Salvador Presidency.
Source: El Salvador PresidencyA federal appeals court threw out a judge’s finding of “probable cause” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt of court for sending accused Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador prison despite his order to halt the deportations.
The 2-1 order on Friday means US officials no longer face a further contempt investigation or the possibility of prosecution under that previous ruling. In April, US District Judge James Boasberg in Washington concluded in a blockbuster opinion that officials acted in “willful disregard” of his orders on March 15 to turn around planes carrying Venezuelans to El Salvador.