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US set to launch tariff refund system on April 20

2026-04-14 18:21:52 UTC / Reuters

By Tom Hals

April 14, 2026 6:21 PM UTC Updated 41 mins ago

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Shipping containers are stacked at a terminal at the port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California, U.S., March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

• Summary

• CAPE system will consolidate refunds for importers
• Refund system will roll out in phases

April 14 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch next Monday the system it will use for issuing refunds to American importers for $166 billion the companies paid in tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in February as unlawful.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a court filing on Tuesday that it has completed the development of the initial phase of the refund system, known as CAPE. ​The system will consolidate refunds so importers will receive one electronic payment, with ​interest when applicable, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis.

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Agency official ⁠Brandon Lord made the declaration in the filing with the New York-based Court of International Trade. ​The agency disclosed the CAPE launch date in a separate announcement on Friday.

The Supreme Court ​ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing sweeping global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law meant for use in national emergencies.

Tuesday’s filing said that as of April 9 some 56,497 ​importers had completed the process to receive electronic refunds for tariffs affected by the ​court’s ruling, an amount totaling $127 billion.

The agency has said it plans to roll out the refund system in phases.

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Lord ⁠said in his declaration that the agency is considering options for processing refunds on a subset of entries that were subject to $2.9 billion in tariffs. Lord said these normally would require manual processing, which would dramatically increase the workload and divert personnel from the agency’s trade ​operations and enforcement.

After the ​Supreme Court’s decision, ⁠importers sued for refunds in the Court of International Trade, which is monitoring the development of the refund system.

More than 330,000 importers paid ​the tariffs at issue on 53 million shipments of imported goods, ​according to court ⁠documents.

Customs and Border Protection has said the CAPE system will initially process refunds on recently imported goods and straightforward entries.

Many smaller importers feared the cost of the refund process would outweigh the ⁠benefits of ​trying to get reimbursed, forcing some companies to explore creative ​financing options related to refunds.

Trump denounced the Supreme Court after its ruling and imposed a new temporary global tariff under ​a different law, though that also has been challenged in court.

Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

US appeals court shields Trump officials from probe over deportation flights

2026-04-14 16:39:08 UTC / Reuters

By Jan Wolfe

April 14, 2026 4:39 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

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A plane carrying Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States approaches landing at Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Marco Bello Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Summary

• Ruling is a win for Trump in clash with Judge Boasberg
• Boasberg had launched a criminal contempt proceeding
• Ruling came in lawsuit over deportations of Venezuelans
• Trump administration invoked rarely used 1798 law

April 14 (Reuters) – In a victory for Donald Trump, a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday blocked ​a judge from conducting an investigation into whether the Republican president’s administration willfully violated a judicial order directing them to stop deportation ‌flights of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 ruling faulted U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in his standoff with administration officials over the limits of presidential power.

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The D.C. Circuit decided that Boasberg encroached on “the autonomy of the executive branch” by demanding sworn testimony from administration ​officials to determine whether they purposely defied his March 2025 court order to turn around aircraft that were removing the Venezuelans from the ​United States.

“The district court proposes to probe high-level Executive Branch deliberations about matters of national security and diplomacy,” Circuit Judge ⁠Neomi Rao wrote, referring to Boasberg.

But Boasberg’s inquiry, known as a contempt proceeding, was a “clear abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. Such criminal contempt proceedings can result ​in fines or other forms of censure.

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Rao was joined by Circuit Judge Justin Walker in Tuesday’s decision, with Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs in dissent. Rao ​and Walker are both Trump judicial appointees. Childs was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden.

The dispute arose as part of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration under the Alien Enemies Act, with the plaintiffs arguing that the administration acted unlawfully with the deportation flights.

This 1798 law, which ​has been invoked rarely in U.S. history, gives presidents broad powers to detain and deport citizens of nations that are at war with the United ​States or have launched an invasion of U.S. territory.

The same judicial panel in December temporarily halted Boasberg’s contempt proceeding while considering the matter further.

Boasberg has ruled against Trump’s administration in ‌multiple cases. ⁠The president has called the judge a “Radical Left Lunatic” as well as a “troublemaker and agitator.”

The Venezuelan men at the center of the litigation were released from a Salvadoran prison last summer and returned to Venezuela as part of a U.S.-brokered prisoner swap. The United States has accused the men of being gang members. Lawyers and family members have disputed that allegation.

Boasberg concluded that the administration appeared to have acted “in bad faith” when it hurriedly assembled three deportation flights at the ​same time that he was conducting ​emergency court proceedings to assess the ⁠legality of the effort.

The judge sought testimony from a high-ranking Justice Department lawyer, as well as a former department attorney who became a whistleblower.

In her dissent on Tuesday, Childs said Boasberg was “just trying to understand the events of a ​single weekend in March (2025), including the actions which may have led to the willful violation” of one of the ​judge’s orders.

Childs said Tuesday’s ⁠ruling stymied Boasberg “in a way that will affect not only these contempt proceedings but will also echo in future proceedings against all litigants.”

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement that the U.S. legal system “cannot tolerate the executive branch deliberately violating any court order, much less one that resulted in the horrific abuse and torture of ⁠dozens of ​men at a notorious Salvadoran gulag.”

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X that the ​ruling “should finally end Judge Boasberg’s year-long campaign against the hardworking Department attorneys doing their jobs fighting illegal immigration.”

Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Will Dunham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump meets US ambassador to China as tensions flare ahead of Xi showdown

2026-04-14 12:36pm EDT / Fox News

The meeting comes ahead of a planned Trump-Xi summit as a fragile tariff truce and Middle East tensions test both sides

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published April 14, 2026 12:36pm EDT

AI report shows China closing gap with US

Stanford HAI executive director Russell Wald discusses the 2026 AI Index Report and China’s push to narrow the AI model performance gap with the U.S. on ‘Fox & Friends.’

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President Donald Trump is set to meet with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue Tuesday, as the administration prepares for a high-stakes summit between the U.S. president and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May.

The talks are expected to focus on both escalating tensions in the Middle East and the broader U.S.–China relationship, as Washington weighs its approach to Beijing ahead of the summit.

“President Trump looks forward to discussing the latest on U.S.-China relations with Ambassador Perdue, including preparations for the President’s upcoming trip to Beijing,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital.

The meeting comes just after the U.S. launched a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, where China remains the largest buyer of Iranian crude amid the conflict between the U.S., Iran and Israel.

The blockade risks pulling China more directly into the conflict. Any effort to enforce it against shipments bound for China could trigger a confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.

The talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to focus on escalating tensions in the Middle East and the broader U.S.–China relationship.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

US, CHINA AGREE TO OPEN DIRECT MILITARY HOTLINE AFTER XI-TRUMP SUMMIT

“This will only aggravate confrontation, escalate tension, undermine the already fragile ceasefire and further jeopardize safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said of the blockade Tuesday in a daily press conference. “It is a dangerous and irresponsible move.”

The meeting also comes amid reports that China supplied Iran with weapons, which Chinese officials dismissed as “completely made up.” Trump has threatened China with 50% tariffs if the reports are accurate.

Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing remain locked in a fragile tariff standoff.

After the 2025 escalation pushed tariffs above 100% on both sides, the two countries agreed to a temporary rollback that lowered U.S. duties on Chinese goods to around 30% and China’s tariffs on American exports to roughly 10%. That truce has held into 2026, but core disputes over technology, market access and national security remain unresolved, with both sides continuing negotiations ahead of the planned summit.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue on April 14, 2026.(Megan Varner/Reuters)

The meeting comes just after the U.S. launched a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, where China remains the largest buyer of Iranian crude.(Shady Alassar/Anadolu/Getty Images)

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The U.S. has escalated economic pressure beyond tariffs: the Trump administration has moved to eliminate a key loophole that allowed Chinese goods valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free, a step targeting companies like Temu and Shein and affecting millions of shipments.

Despite rising economic tensions, the U.S. military posture toward China remains more restrained.

The Trump administration’s national security and defense strategies prioritize defending the homeland from overseas conflicts, even as they identify China as the top long-term threat.

Recent intelligence assessments also have downplayed the likelihood of an imminent Chinese invasion of Taiwan, finding no fixed timeline for military action, suggesting Washington is focused more on deterrence than preparing for direct conflict.

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment on the purpose of the meeting.

Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh is worth well over $100 million, new financial disclosure forms show

April 14, 2026 / 12:53 PM EDT / CBS News

Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, has a net worth exceeding $100 million, making him far wealthier than outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, according to a new financial disclosure form.

Warsh, who is set to step into the Fed chair role in May, listed hundreds of investments, including stakes in a range of startups, such as AI research company Hebbia. His biggest disclosed holding: more than $100 million invested across two positions in the Juggernaut Fund LP, a hedge fund connected to the Duquesne Family Office, the private investment firm of billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

By comparison, Powell’s most recent financial disclosure form shows he is worth a minimum of $19.5 million, with his largest investments including S&P 500 index funds and a mutual fund focused on municipal bonds.

In the filing, which covers the prior 12-month period, Warsh disclosed that he earned $10.2 million in consulting fees from the Duquesne Family Office, representing his most lucrative consulting contract during that period. The filing states that Warsh will stop consulting for Duquesne if he is confirmed to the Fed role, as well as divest several holdings, including his Juggernaut Fund investment.

Warsh, a former Fed official, has worked for think tanks such as the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution and has also taught at Stanford Business School. In 2011, Druckenmiller — who made his wealth with hedge funds such as George Soros’ Quantum Fund — appointed Warsh to serve as a partner at the investor’s Duquesne Family Office, where Warsh told Barron’s he oversees the billionaire’s “small nest egg.”

Warsh, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, is married to cosmetics heiress Jane Lauder, whose net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion by Forbes.

Powell, who has led the Fed since February 2018 after being nominated for the top role by Mr. Trump during his first term as president, is set to step down in May 2026.

Swalwell out amid sexual assault allegations after 13 years in Congress

April 14, 2026 3:07pm EDT / Fox News

Swalwell is the target of a criminal investigation by the the Manhattan District Attorney’s office

By Adam Pack, Fox News

Legal and political strategist Katie Zacharia discusses the allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., following the suspension of his gubernatorial campaign and resignation from Congress on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., formally resigned his House seat on Tuesday amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations that spurred calls to step aside or face expulsion.

“I have just been notified that Eric Swalwell has officially submitted his resignation to the House Clerk,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote on X. “Effective immediately.”

The House clerk read the letter on the floor Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement came after Swalwell said Monday that he planned to resign but did not lay out a clear timeline.

Swalwell’s resignation appeared to thwart a potential expulsion threat from Luna, who vowed to force a vote on a measure forcibly removing him if he did not voluntarily exit Congress.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393089399112

ERIC SWALWELL EXITS CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR RACE APOLOGIZING FOR PAST JUDGMENT WHILE DENYING CLAIMS

Five women, including one former staffer, have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct or rape. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has opened a criminal investigation into one incident that allegedly occurred in a New York City hotel room.

FBI Director Kash Patel has also invited Swalwell to have a conversation with the bureau about the allegations.

Swalwell has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has promised to fight “false” accusations against him.

He suspended his surging gubernatorial campaign over the weekend after nearly every prominent Democrat who had endorsed him retracted their support.

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This is a developing story and will be updated.

Trump urges Republican lawmakers to unify to extend surveillance approval

2026-04-14 18:50:46 UTC / Reuters

By Reuters

April 14, 2026 6:50 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he departs from the White House, en route to Joint Base Andrews (JBA), in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ​called upon Republican lawmakers to work together ‌to extend a law that allows American spy agencies to surveil foreigners abroad using data drawn from U.S. ​digital infrastructure before the authorization expires next ​week.

Trump said Section 702 of the ⁠Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA 702), which is one ​of a suite of authorizations passed after the ​Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, is vital for the U.S. military, and Republicans need to stick together to extend it.

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​The authorization is set to expire on April ​20. Trump said he was working with Speaker Mike Johnson, ‌Judiciary ⁠Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford to get a clean extension of FISA 702 through the House of Representatives ​this week.

“I ​am asking ⁠Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a ​clean Bill to the floor,” Trump ​said ⁠on Truth Social.

“Our Military desperately needs FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have ⁠had ​such tremendous SUCCESS on the ​battlefield, both in Venezuela and Iran,” he added.

Reporting by Daphne ​Psaledakis; writing by Ismail Shakil; editing by Michelle Nichols

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Most Americans say they pay too much in taxes. Here’s what the data shows.

2026-04-14T15:47:55-0400 / CBS News

By

April 14, 2026 / 3:47 PM EDT / CBS News

As the April 15 tax filing deadline nears, most Americans say they believe they are paying more than their fair share — a sentiment that is strongest among the nation’s top earners, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center.

That belief has become more widespread in recent years, despite new tax cuts for everyone from seniors to tipped workers, Pew found. Many Americans are also getting bigger refunds in 2026, with the typical refund up about 11% compared with a year earlier, IRS data shows. The bigger refunds reflect new tax breaks under the “big, beautiful bill” enacted in 2025.

About 68% of top earners — defined as households with total annual income of more than $155,600 — say they pay too much in taxes, the highest share of any income bracket, according to Pew. Only about one-third of those polled say their tax burden is appropriate.

Complaints about paying taxes are nothing new. Still, the level of discontent appears to be on the rise: In 2026, about 60% of adults said their taxes are too high, up from about 51% in 2019, Pew found. An April 10 survey from Gallup found a similar share — 59% — say they pay too much in taxes.

That increase may reflect more households feeling the strain of inflation, which has remained elevated since the pandemic, according to experts. And it stands to reason that paying taxes on top of rising costs for groceries, gas, health care and housing may compound frustrations.

“We know that many hardworking Americans are feeling financial pressure,” said Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, in an email to CBS News. “In my opinion, anytime money comes out of someone’s pocket, even with the noble and necessary responsibility of paying taxes — either through paycheck withholdings or during tax filing time — it is just hard.”

At the same time, tax rates for many income groups have declined in recent decades, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, President Trump’s signature tax law during his first term, reducing the top tax bracket from 39.6% to 37%.

“The price tag for fairness”

Widespread public frustration with taxes may also reflect the complexity of the tax code, Steber said.

Many Americans lack a clear understanding of how taxes work, with one 2024 survey from the Tax Foundation finding that more than half of taxpayers lacked basic tax literacy, including how tax brackets function.

The tax system is designed to be progressive, meaning that lower-income Americans pay a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than do higher-income workers. IRS data shows that the top-earning households pay the bulk of federal income taxes. Many low-income households end up owing little or nothing in income taxes, although they are subject to payroll, sales, state and other taxes.

“Income taxes aren’t simple, but complexity is the price tag for fairness,” Steber said. “Everyone’s financial situation is different, and when you layer that onto an elaborate tax system, taxpayers naturally compare what they pay to what they feel they’re getting back, which can reinforce the perception that they’re paying more than their fair share.”

Edited by Alain Sherter

Last-minute tax tips
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/last-minute-tips-if-you-havent-filed-your-taxes-yet/

Last-minute tips if you haven’t filed your taxes yet

(03:04)

Gonzales resigns in wake of renewed expulsion threat after scandal

April 14, 2026 2:37pm EDT / Fox News

Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, made his resignation from Congress official on Tuesday as he faced the looming, rare threat of expulsion from the House.

Gonzales’ brief resignation letter was read aloud on the House floor and will mark his exit from Congress amid scandal just before the stroke of midnight on Tuesday.

“It has been my privilege to serve the residents of Texas’s 23rd congressional district,” Gonzales wrote in his letter.

It comes on the heels of calls for his resignation and others’, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., from the House for a variety of scandals.

REP TONY GONZALES ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION AMID HOUSE ETHICS INVESTIGATION INTO AFFAIR

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6389767409112

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., introduced an expulsion resolution against Gonzales just before his resignation letter was read aloud on the House floor after the embattled lawmaker failed to meet her deadline to resign from Congress.

Gonzales announced his plans on Monday to “file his retirement” but did not specify when he planned to step aside.

The Texas Republican’s plans to resign come after he admitted to an extramarital affair with a former staffer earlier this year after repeatedly denying the allegations.

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Gonzales suspended his re-election campaign in March after House GOP leadership called on him to exit the race.

He was also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Fed chair nominee Warsh’s Senate panel hearing set for April 21

April 14, 2026 6:14 PM UTC / Reuters

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Kevin Warsh, Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

April 14 (Reuters) – The Senate ​Banking Committee ‌will hold a ​hearing for ​Federal Reserve chair ⁠nominee ​Kevin Warsh ​on April 21, it ​said ​on Tuesday, giving ‌lawmakers ⁠less than a month to ​get ​him ⁠confirmed before ​Jerome ​Powell’s ⁠leadership term ends.

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Reporting ⁠by ​Ann ​Saphir; Editing by ​Chris Reese

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Appeals court shuts down criminal contempt probe over deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants

2026-04-14T12:01:00-0400 / CBS News

By Jacob Rosen

Washington — A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered an end to criminal contempt proceedings launched by a lower court judge who said the government defied his order to turn around deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year.

A divided panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed to grant the Trump administration extraordinary relief to halt the contempt inquiry of Trump administration officials that was ordered by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.

The ruling from the D.C. Circuit is the latest development in a winding legal battle that arose from President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act last March to summarily deport more than 200 Venezuelans to the notorious Salvadoran prison known as CECOT. The administration accused the men of belonging to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but a CBS News investigation found that most of the men lacked any apparent criminal record.

Boasberg had issued an oral order during fast-moving legal proceedings more than a year ago that demanded federal immigration officials turn around two planes of Venezuelan migrants that were bound for El Salvador. The judge later said the Trump administration defied the order.

He then found probable cause that the government committed criminal contempt and began efforts to determine who was responsible for ordering the two jets to continue onto El Salvador. The government later said it was then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

But in an opinion authored by Judge Neomi Rao, the D.C. Circuit panel said Tuesday that the proceedings “are a clear abuse of discretion.” Relief to the Trump administration “is appropriate to prevent the district court from assuming an antagonistic jurisdiction that encroaches on the autonomy of the Executive Branch,” she said.

“The district court has launched an intrusive criminal contempt investigation into whether the government acted willfully when it transferred suspected Tren de Aragua members to Salvadoran custody. But the end of this investigation is a legal dead end,” Rao wrote.

The two-judge majority found that the case raised separation of powers concerns, since the judiciary was attempting to investigate executive branch deliberations into matters of national security and foreign policy, areas that are committed to the political branches, not the courts.

“These proceedings improperly threaten an open-ended, freewheeling inquiry into Executive Branch decisionmaking on matters of national security that implicate ongoing military and diplomatic initiatives,” Rao wrote, calling the contempt inquiry a “judicial intrusion into the autonomy of a co-equal department.”

She was joined in the majority by Judge Justin Walker. Both were appointed to the D.C. Circuit by Mr. Trump in his first term. Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented.

Childs wrote “we cannot judge the early actions of a trial court in such a proceeding heavy-handedly, for contempt of court is not addressed for the district court’s vanity; it is done to preserve and enforce our law.”

“Here, unfortunately, we have overstepped in adjudicating this balance of interests,” wrote Childs, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.

In response to the decision, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on social media that it “should finally end Judge Boasberg’s year-long campaign against the hardworking Department attorneys doing their jobs fighting illegal immigration.”

Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the ACLU who represented the Venezuelan migrants, called the D.C. Circuit’s decision a “blow to the rule of law.”

“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” he said.

The Alien Enemies Act deportations

Mr. Trump issued his proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act in March 2025, kicking off a protracted legal battle over his use of the 228-year-old law that landed before the Supreme Court in its earlier stages. Several lower courts have since blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan migrants under the president’s declaration.

In February, Boasberg ordered the U.S. to facilitate the return of certain Venezuelan migrants who were removed to El Salvador during the Alien Enemies Act deportations and are challenging the government’s actions. The Justice Department has appealed that order.

The Trump administration had asked the D.C. Circuit to intervene and stop Boasberg’s contempt proceedings once before.

In August 2025, a different panel of three judges split 2-1 and granted the Trump administration’s request to set aside Boasberg’s order finding probable causethat federal officials committed criminal contempt.

The full complement of judges on the D.C. Circuit declined to reconsider the panel’s decision, but found that Boasberg could continue his probe into whether the Trump administration had violated his order.

In November, Boasberg said he was resuming his investigation. He ordered the ACLU, which is representing the Venezuelan men, to attempt to secure a Justice Department whistleblower at the center of the dispute, Erez Reuveni, for live testimony, alongside Drew Ensign, a top Justice Department attorney.

Ensign was the government attorney whom Boasberg directed to instruct the Trump administration to turn the planes carrying the men to El Salvador around.

Boasberg also ordered Noem, Blanche and former Justice Department official-turned-federal judge Emil Bove to disclose what conversations the Trump administration had about disregarding his order. All declined to provide details.

“I will be going forward with it,” Boasberg said in a hearing last year. “I certainly intend to find out what happened that day.”