Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General and Liberty University law professor, said the recent appellate court actions against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg are a significant reprimand, arguing that the judge has engaged in misconduct over multiple years.
A recent federal appeals court ordered Boasberg to halt a criminal contempt probe into Trump administration officials, with a majority of the court characterizing Boasberg’s efforts to pursue contempt charges against the administration officials as overly intrusive and lacking legal foundation.
Speaking on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Kline reacted to the appeals court decision involving Boasberg, saying, “It’s a serious rebuke of Judge Boasberg, and he deserved it and quite frankly, he’s deserved something like that for the past four years.”
Kline further accused Boasberg of routinely signing judicial orders without adequate review.
“This is the same judge who now says he signed these orders without really reading them,” Kline said, referencing subpoenas and surveillance-related rulings. He added, “He signed these things just routinely.”
Kline also pointed to past ethics allegations involving the judge, stating, “Judge Boasberg was also the judge who filed a frivolous and baseless ethics claim against one of the attorneys who worked for me… that contained falsehoods and also resulted in a quiet dismissal of the claim.”
He argued that the appellate court’s criticism went beyond ordinary judicial disagreement, describing it as a rejection of Boasberg’s handling of a case involving deportation-related executive actions.
“There was no basis for it,” he said, adding that the court found the judge’s actions to be overly broad and insufficiently defined. “The court said that his order and his investigation and justification were vague, ill-defined, un-boundaried, and that he has to stop.”
He emphasized the rarity of the appellate court’s directive, saying, “They took the extraordinary position that he must stop it now. That is rare.”
When asked about the traditional role of judges, Kline questioned Boasberg’s conduct in the underlying matters.
“What’d I miss here? Why is this guy doing investigations?” he said, arguing that judges should not be conducting broad investigative efforts. “Without jurisdiction, going on a wide-ranging investigation to try to find somebody to pin a contempt charge on.”
Turning to impeachment calls made by Missouri U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Kline said, “I think they have a basis to do it,” and added that Boasberg should face removal proceedings. “He has betrayed his oath, and I support that effort to impeach him. He should be removed.”
Kline also said the controversy should be fully aired through congressional proceedings.
“This stuff needs to be exposed,” he said, adding that an impeachment trial would be beneficial for public understanding. “Impeach him in the House, have the Senate trial, have that trial be a lengthy one where all of this comes out.”
“A full understanding of how he has weaponized that circuit needs to happen,” he added.
Kline concluded with a broader structural critique of the federal judiciary, suggesting a “break up” of the D.C. Circuit itself.
“The DC Circuit has had a bad run,” he said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
