President Donald Trump’s administration made a calculated decision to ignore a judge’s directive to turn around two flights containing hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The verbal order from James Boasberg, the chief judge of the Washington, D.C., District Court, explicitly told the government to turn around any aircraft that had already departed the country if it was still in the air.
However, top lawyers and officials in the administration determined that since the flights were over international waters, Boasberg’s order did not apply.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on Sunday evening that the administration “did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.”
She said the order was issued after the alleged gang members “had already been removed from U.S. territory,” arguing that “the written order and the administration’s actions do not conflict.”
Source-ABC
