U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has joined several Republican colleagues in calling for the administrative suspension of Chief Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, while Congress considers Articles of Impeachment against him.
Senator Tuberville and Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sent a letter to D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, urging that Judge Boasberg be suspended from his duties as the impeachment process unfolds. The letter cites allegations that Judge Boasberg abused his judicial authority by authorizing surveillance on sitting Republican Senators as part of Operation Arctic Frost, an initiative under the Biden administration.
The letter states: “On November 4, 2025, Articles of Impeachment were filed against Chief Judge Boasberg over, among other things, his role in improperly granting gag orders in the ‘Arctic Frost’ probe: ‘Ignoring his responsibility to wield the power of his office in a constitutional manner, Chief Judge Boasberg granted Special Counsel John L. Smith authorization to issue frivolous nondisclosure orders in furtherance of . . . ARCTIC FROST.’ Your court adopted a similar sentiment when it reversed Chief Judge Boasberg In re: Sealed Case, which found that he had erred by too permissively granting government-requested nondisclosure orders against X Corp,” wrote the Senators.
Other signatories to the letter include Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Mike Lee (R-UT).
In addition to concerns about gag orders related to Operation Arctic Frost, the Senators allege that Judge Boasberg assigned himself to a case involving former President Trump—J.G.G. v. Trump—which was later ruled by the Supreme Court as outside his jurisdiction. The letter also references an incident at a conference where Judge Boasberg raised concerns about possible executive disregard for federal court rulings.
The lawmakers cite precedent for suspending judges pending impeachment proceedings, referencing G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., who was suspended before being impeached following allegations of bribery and fraud.
According to the letter, on July 28, 2025, the Department of Justice filed a formal judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Boasberg under federal statutes requiring prompt review and potential corrective action by Chief Judge Srinivasan. The Senators state that there has not yet been any public action taken regarding this complaint.
They request transparency about what steps are being taken concerning these allegations and ask for written updates to be provided to both House and Senate Judiciary Committees as well as relevant officials.
“Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan,
We write to you regarding Chief Judge James ‘Jeb’ Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Chief Judge Boasberg should be administratively suspended pending formal impeachment by the House of Representatives and, if impeached, an impeachment trial by the Senate.
On November 4, 2025, Articles of Impeachment were filed against Chief Judge Boasberg over, among other things, his role in improperly granting gag orders in the ‘Arctic Frost’ probe: ‘Ignoring his responsibility to wield the power of his office in a constitutional manner, Chief Judge Boasberg granted Special Counsel John L. Smith authorization to issue frivolous nondisclosure orders in furtherance of . . . ARCTIC FROST.’ Your court adopted a similar sentiment when it reversed Chief Judge Boasberg in In re: Sealed Case, which found that he had erred by too permissively granting government-requested nondisclosure orders against X Corp.
These Articles of Impeachment have received bicameral support. Chief Judge Boasberg’s role in Arctic Frost is not the only complaint levied against him. He is accused of improperly using his role as Chief Judge, on March 15, 2025, to assign himself J.G.G. v. Trump, a case the Supreme Court found he lacked jurisdiction over. And in July 2025, it came to light that on March 11, 2025, ‘at one of the Conference’s semiannual meetings, Judge Boasberg disregarded its history, tradition, and purpose to push a wholly unsolicited discussion about “concerns that the Administration would disregard rulings of federal courts, leading to a constitutional crisis.”’
There is precedent for administratively suspending a judge pending an impeachment inquiry. The most recently impeached judge, G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana, was administratively suspended prior to his impeachment while the Judicial Conference of the United States investigated allegations against him of bribery and fraud. As Chief Judge of the applicable circuit judicial council, you are tasked with overseeing the Article III remedial process for the misconduct of the appellate and district judges of your circuit.
On July 28, 2025, the Department of Justice filed a formal judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Boasberg, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 351(a). Under 28 U.S.C. § 352, you are mandated to ‘expeditiously’ review this complaint and determine whether to take ‘appropriate corrective action’ or dispense with the case ‘by written order stating his . . . reasons.’ On information and belief, you are yet to take any published steps regarding this very public complaint.
Given you have not entered an order under 352(b), we assume you are following your duties under 28 U.S.C. § 353 which mandate that you ‘shall promptly’ establish a special committee ‘to investigate facts and allegations contained in complaint.’ While this impeachment process proceeds we must have transparency regarding actions Circuit Judicial Council is taking against judicial misconduct Chief Judge Boasberg.
To that end please submit following writing House Judiciary Committee Senate Judiciary Committee Department Justice signees this letter:
Sincerely,”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in United States Senate and serves on several committees including Armed Services Agriculture Veterans’ Affairs HELP Aging.
