Judge also warned he could name independent prosecutor if White House stonewalled contempt proceedings
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that there was probable cause to hold Trump officials in criminal contempt for violating his temporary injunction that barred the use of the Alien Enemies Act wartime power to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
In a scathing 46-page opinion, James Boasberg, the chief US district judge for Washington, wrote that senior Trump officials could either return the people who were supposed to have been protected by his injunction, or face contempt proceedings.
The judge also warned that if the administration tried to stonewall his contempt proceedings or instructed the justice department to decline to file contempt charges against the most responsible officials, he would appoint an independent prosecutor himself.
The court can hold anyone in contempt, can order anything, can moan and bitch about constitutional crisis till the end of days. It won’t matter if the people who have to uphold those rulings are the people against whom those rulings are made and will simply ignore it.
Rule of law is is just a strong as the people who enforce it.