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Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, often seen as a persistent challenge to former President Donald Trump, has mandated new court protocols requiring notification when a grand jury decides against filing an indictment, albeit on a temporary basis.
This directive, issued earlier this month, comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s unsuccessful attempt to press charges against six Democratic members of Congress. Trump and his supporters have labeled these individuals as the “seditious six” due to their advice to U.S. troops to disregard unlawful commands.
In the March 4 order, Boasberg stated, “This Court has examined current procedures regarding indictment returns and the notification process when a grand jury opts not to indict.”
He further explained, “To promote uniformity and transparency, and under the authority of Rule 57.14(b), this Court determines that a duty magistrate judge should be informed whenever a grand jury does not support an indictment, even if charges against the defendant have been previously filed.”
Judge James Boasberg and former President Trump share a turbulent history, marked by frequent clashes between the judiciary and the former president.
The order bullet-pointed three directives:
“When a grand jury fails to concur in an indictment in a GJO [Grand Jury Original] investigation, the foreperson shall promptly and in writing report the lack of concurrence to the duty magistrate judge under seal;
“Notifications provided pursuant to this order shall be maintained in the confidential files of the Clerk’s Office and will not be made public absent order of the Court; and
“This order shall remain in effect for 120 days, during which time the Court will consider the adoption of a local rule requiring such notifications. See LCvR 1.1(b).”
Trump’s Justice Department had sought potential grand jury indictments of six Democrats in November — Reps. Jason Crow, D-Col.; Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ari.; and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. — for publicly calling for U.S. service members to reject unlawful orders.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the video is urging military to violate the chain of command.
Trump called the political attack ad “seditious behavior,” calling for them to be “arrested and put on trial” for potential acts of treason, behavior “punishable by death.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro sought a federal grand jury indictment in February in D.C., a notoriously left-leaning district that can be expected to side against a sitting Republican administration, according to legal expert Alan Dershowitz.
Pirro fired back at Boasberg’s recent moves last Friday in a fiery news conference, including blocking a subpoena for Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell, who Trump had long rebuked as “too late” on lowering interest rates and has had massive cost overruns and delays on the $3 billion new Federal Reserve building.
Pirro blasted Boasberg as “an activist judge” and told reporters before walking out that she is getting rejected on grand jury indictments, but is only doing her job.
She said she is “willing to take a not guilty,” “willing to take a no true bill, because I’ll take all the crimes and put them in,” slamming the former Biden administration Justice Department for not seeking prosecutions for crimes at the rate she is now doing.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, had introduced articles of impeachment for Boasberg for “abuse of power” in blocking the Trump administration from removing terrorists and ordered a plane with terrorists to return to the U.S. last year, and another for nondisclosure orders for the former Biden administration’s Artic Frost investigation of congressional Republicans.
In January, a Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, amendment to an appropriation bill failed in an effort to defund Boasberg and his staff amid allegations of weaponization.