WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court overturned on Friday a lower court’s ruling finding probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in contempt of court over their handling of the deportations of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants under a centuries-old wartime law.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found in April that officials could face criminal contempt charges for willfully disregarding his March 15 order barring the deportations to El Salvador of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act without the chance to challenge their removals.
The Trump administration appealed. On Friday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the government by a 2-1 vote.
“The District Court’s order raises troubling questions about judicial control over core executive functions like the conduct of foreign policy and the prosecution of criminal offenses,” Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas wrote in an opinion.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)
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