Trump Just Gave Pam Bondi The Green Light – IT’S GOING DOWN!
Invoking the "state secrets privilege," three high-ranking officials from President Donald Trump’s administration have refused to provide the judge with further information about plans to deport hundreds of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg attempted to stop two deportation flights on March 15, yet they appeared to have departed despite his written and verbal orders. As he assessed whether the government had defied his ruling, he sought public disclosure of details such as the number of passengers aboard, their exit time from U.S. airspace, the destination, and the exact takeoff and landing schedules.
In court documents submitted late Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem all asserted that disclosing this information could pose risks to national security or international diplomacy.
According to USA Today, Trump designated the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered the removal of individuals suspected of involvement.
“This is a case about the President’s plenary authority…to remove from the homeland designated terrorists participating in a state-sponsored invasion and predatory incursion into the United States,” Bondi stated in a legal filing. “The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before it.”
“Further intrusions on the Executive Branch would present dangerous and wholly unwarranted separation-of-powers harms with respect to diplomatic and national security concerns that the Court lacks competence to address,” Bondi continued in the filing.
Boasberg reaffirmed his ruling that no deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act should occur until those accused of being affiliated with Tren de Aragua have had the chance to dispute their alleged gang membership, as some have already done in court filings.
“As the Government itself concedes, the awesome power granted by the Act may be brought to bear only on those who are, in fact, ‘alien enemies,’” Boasberg wrote. “And the Supreme Court and this Circuit have long maintained that federal courts are equipped to adjudicate that question when individuals threatened with detention and removal challenge their designation as such.”
Government lawyers suggested they might introduce another argument on Tuesday regarding their adherence to Boasberg’s orders. They previously contended that no flights departed after his written ruling and that his verbal directive was not enforceable.