Congressman moves to impeach Judge Boasberg over ‘weaponization’ of courts against Trump

A Republican congressman has drawn up an article of impeachment against frequent Trump adversary Judge James Boasberg, saying his decision to authorize the FBI to secretly snoop on members of Congress crossed lines.

Rep. Brandon Gill, Texas Republican, formally accused Judge Boasberg of “abuse of power” stemming from the “Arctic Frost” investigation, which sought to prosecute President Trump for his behavior surrounding the 2020 election.

When Special Counsel Jack Smith sought subpoenas to gain phone records from nearly a dozen members of Congress in 2023, Judge Boasberg signed off on them. He then ordered that the phone companies not reveal the situation to the lawmakers.

Mr. Gill said a judge allowing an agent of the Justice Department, part of the Executive Branch, to gain phone records of legislators trampled on the lawmakers’ privileges under the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution.

“The weaponization of the judiciary compromises the separation of powers found in the U.S. Constitution, and Chief Judge Boasberg’s impropriety in participating in the undue investigation of members of Congress casts doubt on his ability to execute his office with good behavior,” the impeachment resolution reads.

Mr. Gill has 11 Republican cosponsors supporting the resolution.

“Judge Boasberg was an accomplice in the egregious Arctic Frost scandal where he equipped the Biden DOJ to spy on Republican senators,” the congressman said in a statement. “His lack of integrity makes him clearly unfit for the gavel.”

“The weaponization of the judiciary compromises the separation of powers found in the U.S. Constitution, and Chief Judge Boasberg’s impropriety in participating in the undue investigation of members of Congress casts doubt on his ability to execute his office with good behavior,” the impeachment resolution reads.

Fox News first reported the impeachment effort.

Mr. Gill’s office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry for this story.

Some of the senators who’d been targets of the subpoenas had urged the House, which holds the impeachment power, to probe Judge Boasberg’s behavior.

“The misconduct here is worthy of a Watergate-style investigation,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, who urged both an impeachment probe in the House and a Senate select committee.

Judge Boasberg justified the one-year gag order on the phone companies by saying that disclosure “will result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses and serious jeopardy to the investigation.”

Mr. Graham called that stance “legal slander.”

Subpoenas went out to Verizon, which did turn over records, and AT&T, which pushed back on Mr. Smith’s subpoenas and did not turn over records.

The subpoenas sought records showing when and to whom calls were placed. They did not seek the contents of the calls.

Judge Boasberg, an Obama appointee to the federal district court in Washington, has emerged as a major judicial adversary to Mr. Trump.

During a meeting with other judges this spring, Judge Boasberg said he feared Mr. Trump would “disregard rulings of federal courts” and precipitate a “constitutional crisis.”

Soon after that meeting, Judge Boasberg took over a highly charged case involving Mr. Trump’s attempt to deport Venezuelan gang suspects to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. The judge tried to turn the airplanes around in the air, then questioned whether the administration had intentionally defied him.

The Supreme Court would later erase Judge Boasberg’s key ruling in the case, finding he lacked jurisdiction.

Mr. Gill, in March, announced an earlier impeachment resolution against Judge Boasberg over his initial ruling.

Federal judges get lifetime appointments and can only be removed through impeachment.