Obama Judge Aided in Spying on GOP, May Have Broken Federal Law in Doing So
An Obama-appointed federal judge is facing mounting calls for impeachment after signing secret court orders that allowed the Biden-era Department of Justice to quietly obtain private cell phone records from multiple Republican lawmakers — without notifying them.
Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., authorized orders in 2023 blocking cell carriers from informing 11 Republican members of Congress that Special Counsel Jack Smith had subpoenaed their phone data on January 4 and January 7, 2021. The subpoenas were issued as part of Smith’s now-defunct effort to build a case against President Donald J. Trump regarding the 2020 election.
According to documents released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the subpoenas demanded “records for inbound and outbound calls, text messages, direct connect, and voicemail messages,” though not the content of messages.
Boasberg justified the secrecy by claiming that giving notice could “result in destruction of or tampering with evidence.”
However, legal experts argue the move may have violated federal law, particularly if the numbers in question were linked to official congressional phone lines. Mike Fragoso, former chief counsel to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, highlighted that federal statute explicitly protects congressional communications from such concealed legal demands:
Communications providers for Senate offices “shall not be barred, through operation of any court order or any statutory provision, from notifying the Senate office of any legal process seeking disclosure of Senate data.”
“If Smith or Boasberg violated that statute, it’s a very serious problem that probably justifies a bar investigation and could predicate an impeachment inquiry,” Fragoso wrote on X.
Sen. Ted Cruz has already made the demand publicly:
“Mark my words: there will be accountability for these partisan zealots who sought to corrupt the DOJ and judiciary to attack their enemies.”
Heritage Foundation Vice President Roger Severino called out the double standard:
“Safe bet: All the legal ethics ‘experts’ trotted out on CNN… will be MIA on the issue of the proper discipline for actual defiance of a federal statute by a biased anti-Trump judge.”
Smith targeted Sens. Ron Johnson, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Cynthia Lummis, Rick Scott, and Tommy Tuberville, along with Rep. Mike Kelly.
AT&T declined to hand over lawmakers’ information after questioning the legitimacy of the subpoena. Verizon, on the other hand, complied, claiming the subpoena appeared “facially valid,” though the company says it is now reviewing its compliance policies.
Republicans are now moving to act.
“Judge Boasberg put his robe down, stood up and said, ‘Sign me up to be part of the partisan vendetta against 20 percent of Republicans in the Senate,’” Cruz said Wednesday. “Mark my words: there will be accountability.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham characterized Boasberg’s sealed order as “legal slander,” calling for a “Watergate-style investigation.”
“My carrier, Verizon, was extremely irresponsible by complying with this subpoena,” he said. “I also expect the House of Representatives to investigate Judge Boasberg’s potential misconduct, which could be grounds for his impeachment.”
The House Freedom Caucus echoed the demand:
IMPEACH JUDGE BOASBERG
Article III Project President Mike Davis added:
“Jeb Boasberg should definitely be impeached… his rulings are lawless, extremely lawless… This is part of a pattern.”
Rep. Brandon Gill has confirmed he is working on articles of impeachment, building on his earlier action against the same judge.
Other Republican lawmakers — including Reps. Chip Roy and Sen. Eric Schmitt — have joined in, calling Boasberg “openly biased, gone rogue, and likely broken the law.”
Smith’s attorneys insist the subpoenas were lawful:
“Mr. Smith’s actions… were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to… the law, without fear or favor,” attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote in a letter to Grassley.
Smith ultimately abandoned his prosecution efforts after President Trump won the 2024 election, rendering the politically driven case defunct.
What remains now is accountability — and a judge whose future on the bench may soon depend on the House of Representatives.