Top US Officials Identified by DOJ in Deportation Contempt Fight

The Trump administration identified top US officials involved in the decision not to turn around planes of deported migrants in March per a judge’s order, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Judge Emil Bove, who was a Justice Department official at the time.

Noem was responsible for deciding not to return the Venezuelans while they were mid-flight, after receiving legal advice from Blanche, Bove and a top Homeland Security lawyer, the government said in a court filing Tuesday evening. The administration disputes that the judge’s directive was a “binding injunction.”

The Justice Department’s latest disclosures followed recent moves by a federal judge in Washington to reopen an inquiry into whether administration officials should be held in contempt for violating his orders and potentially face criminal prosecution.

It’s a remarkable revelation by the Justice Department of the inner workings of a critical moment in Trump’s second presidency that critics have pointed to as evidence of judicial defiance. The government maintains that no in-person testimony is needed.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-26/top-us-officials-identified-by-doj-in-deportation-contempt-fight?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2NDEzNTIwNywiZXhwIjoxNzY0NzQwMDA3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUNkI4V1lUOU5KTFcwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJDNjgyQTUwQzJCRDM0MTFCQTgwQjEwQjZEQjczQzM1MSJ9.FQVS0hTlK5AFI5h6tDf8kiqsvaLO03rCMMBRWNYGiu4