Boasberg’s role in ‘Arctic Frost’ probe sparks fury from GOP senators, despite local rules
This week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg became the target of fierce criticism from Republican senators, including Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn, after it was revealed that he had signed subpoenas and gag orders related to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s actions following the 2020 election. The controversy erupted after redacted documents were released by Senator Chuck Grassley, revealing that subpoenas had been issued for the phone records of ten senators and one House member. These subpoenas were accompanied by gag orders instructing major telecom companies, including Verizon and AT&T, not to inform the lawmakers about the subpoenas. While Cruz labeled the investigation “worse than Watergate” and called for Boasberg’s impeachment, Blackburn echoed the sentiment that Boasberg was an “activist” judge.
However, a closer examination of court rules suggests that Boasberg’s actions may not be as egregious as the Republican senators claim. According to the local rules for the federal court system in Washington, D.C., the chief judge is required to oversee grand jury proceedings, which includes signing off on subpoenas and gag orders. Boasberg’s involvement in this case is consistent with his role as the chief judge, a position he assumed in March 2023. Prior to this, he had largely avoided controversy, but his recent rulings, including a temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s use of a wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals, have placed him in the spotlight. Notably, Boasberg has a long and distinguished legal career, having been confirmed to the federal bench with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2011, and he has served on the FISA Court, which deals with surveillance matters.
In response to the backlash, Jack Smith defended the subpoenas as entirely proper and in line with Justice Department policy. The subpoenas sought phone records from a four-day window surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot, including call detail records and subscriber information, but did not access the actual content of calls or messages, which would require a warrant. As the legal battle unfolds, the tension between the Republican lawmakers and the judicial process highlights the contentious nature of investigations into Trump’s actions and the broader implications for legal oversight in politically charged environments.
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Republican senators issued a torrent of criticism against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg this week after it was revealed that he had signed off on subpoenas and gag orders issued as part of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation — though a cursory review of court rules suggests it is far less provocative than lawmakers have claimed.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., were among the Republicans who blasted Boasberg as an “activist” judge, and Cruz, for his part, suggested Boasberg should be impeached.
“My assumption,” Cruz fumed, is “that Judge Boasberg printed these things out like the placemats at Denny’s — one after the other.”
MAJOR PHONE CARRIERS REVEAL JACK SMITH’S SUBPOENAS FOR REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ RECORDS
At issue were subpoenas and gag orders issued by former special counsel Jack Smith’s team as part of its probe into President
Donald Trump’
s actions in the wake of the 2020 election.
The redacted documents were made public this week by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
They included subpoenas of phone records for 10 senators and one House lawmaker, and gag orders sent to Verizon and AT&T instructing them not to notify lawmakers of the subpoena. (Verizon complied, but AT&T did not.)
Both the subpoenas and gag orders were signed by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, according to the newly released documents — a detail that prompted fresh criticism and indignation from some of the Republicans in question, including Cruz, who blasted the investigation in question as “worse than Watergate” and a gross violation of prosecutorial powers.
Blackburn blasted Boasberg as an “activist” judge. Some lawmakers further
argued for his impeachment
as a result of his involvement.
In fact, his role in the process is far from surprising.
WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?
Local rules for the federal court system in D.C. explicitly state the chief judge “must hear and determine all proceedings before the grand jury.” The subpoenas and gag orders signed by Boasberg were signed in May 2023 — roughly two months into his tenure as the chief judge for the federal court.
It’s unclear whether Sens. Cruz or Blackburn were aware of this rule, and they did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
But it’s also not the first time Judge Boasberg previously noted his oversight of these matters as the chief judge for D.C. — including in the special counsel probe in question.
Boasberg explained the rule in question in June 2023, when he granted, in part, a request from media outlets to unseal a tranche of redacted documents related to the subpoena and testimony of former Vice President Mike Pence in the same probe. (He explained in a lengthy public memo that he did so because the press movant were seeking record that Pence himself had discussed publicly.)
Still, the controversy comes as Boasberg has found himself squarely in Trump’s crosshairs, after he issued a temporary restraining order in March blocking Trump’s use of a 1798 wartime law to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
Until that point, however, Boasberg had largely avoided making headlines.
JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’
A graduate of Yale, Oxford University and Yale Law School, Boasberg clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before joining the Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C.
He was tapped in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve on the D.C. Superior Court, where he served until 2011, when he was nominated by President Barack Obama to the federal bench in D.C. in 2011.
His confirmation vote soared through the Senate with a 96-0 vote of approval, including with the support of Sen. Grassley and other Republicans named in the subpoena.
Boasberg in 2014 was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, comprised of 11 federal judges hand-selected by the chief justice.
Former special counsel Jack Smith, for his part, has since defended his decision to subpoena the Republican lawmakers’ phone records, which Fox News Digital reported
includes phone records
for a four-day period surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
They did not include the contents of phone calls or messages, which would require a warrant, but they did include “[call] detail records for inbound and outbound calls, text messages, direct connect, and voicemail messages” and phone number, subscriber, and payment information.
His lawyers told Senate lawmakers in a letter earlier this month that the decision to do so was “entirely proper” and is consistent with
Justice Department
policy.
Fox News’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
Eric
Eric is a seasoned journalist covering US Politics news.
