Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during a Senate hearing on Wednesday called for the impeachment of two federal judges, including Judge James Boasberg, who authorized the surveillance of Republican lawmakers during then-special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 protests.
“Rarer still, until now, were the deeper offenses the framers feared most — judges who, without necessarily breaking a criminal statute, violate the public trust, subvert the constitutional order or wield their office in ways that injure society itself,” Cruz said during the hearing, admitting that impeaching a federal judge is a rare feat, as only 15 have been impeached in U.S. history.
“That is why, throughout history, Congress recognized that impeachable misconduct need not be criminal,” he stated.
Cruz said the House needs to start proceedings to impeach Judge Boasberg over controversial gag orders Boasberg signed in 2023
The senator also called for the impeachment of Judge Deborah Boardman for a sentence she issued regarding the case of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s attempted assassin.
Boardman sentenced Sophie Roske, formerly Nicholas Roske, to eight years in prison after Roske attempted to murder Kavanaugh. The judge considered Roske’s transgender status during sentencing, contending that the attempted assassin faced adversity.
Cruz continued:
My Democrat colleagues on this committee do not get to give great speeches about how opposed they are to violence against the judiciary, and, at the same time, cheer on a judge saying, ‘Well, if you attempt to murder a Supreme Court justice, and you happen to be transgender, not a problem. We’re going to deviate downward by more than two decades.’
Russell Dye, a House Judiciary Committee spokesman, said “everything is on the table,” when asked if Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is open to impeaching the judges.
Democrats strongly defended the judges.
“There was a time when I’d have hoped a Senate Judiciary subcommittee would not be roped into a scheme to amplify pressure and threats against a sitting federal judge,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said. “But here we are.”
Boasberg authorized subpoenas for many Republican lawmakers’ phone records while then-special counsel Jack Smith conducted his investigation into the 2020 election and Donald Trump’s part in the January 6, 2021, protests.
“One must ask on what basis Judge Boasberg found that the disclosure of subpoenas would result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and cause serious jeopardy to the investigation, end quote,” Rob Luther, a George Mason University law professor, said at the hearing. “Did Judge Boasberg merely rubber stamp the requested gag order, or was he willfully blind?”
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