Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fessed up on Friday over who was responsible for the Trump administration's brazen defiance of a court order.
In March, the Trump administration made the controversial decision to transfer Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador despite a judicial order temporarily blocking their removal. The move ignited a confrontation between the Trump administration and Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who was weighing whether to hold officials in contempt of court.
The case centers on two flights carrying predominantly Venezuelan migrants, which were redirected to El Salvador and held in the country's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, despite Boasberg's explicit order to return the planes to the United States. President Donald Trump attacked Boasberg on social media, calling him a "Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator.
Noem admitted in a federal court filing Friday evening that she decided the migrants on the two airplanes would be turned over to that country despite Boasberg's order, The Washington Post reported. Her admission comes as Boasberg resumes an inquiry into whether she ought to face a contempt prosecution for defying the order.
"The resumption of Boasberg’s probe after a seven-month delay as appeals were heard and Noem’s reply revives a momentous clash between President Donald Trump’s administration and the judiciary," the Post wrote. The report noted her filing lacked details, as did the filings of other officials involved in the move, which could lead the judge to have them testify in court.
Justice Department attorneys appeared to remain defiant, writing in a filing that if Boasberg “continues to believe” his "order was sufficiently clear in imposing an obligation to halt the transfer of custody for detainees who had already been removed from the United States, the Court should proceed promptly with a referral."