Sen. Ted Cruz Calls for Impeachment of Judge Boasberg
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has urged the House to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for allegedly aiding the FBI in accessing the phone records of Republican lawmakers during the Biden administration.
This came during a press conference where Cruz expressed strong criticism regarding the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation. He characterized Boasberg, who was appointed by Obama in 2011, as a “far-left judge who has gotten out of control.”
Cruz highlighted that the FBI reportedly targeted the personal cell phones of Republican lawmakers, gaining “data charges” that documented when and to whom calls were made, especially around the events of January 6, 2021.
The Arctic Frost investigation underpinned Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Donald Trump, suggesting he sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
Cruz candidly stated that “Arctic Frost is Joe Biden’s Watergate,” criticizing Merrick Garland as a “fundamentally corrupt attorney general” and Jack Smith as a “fundamentally corrupt prosecutor.” He claimed this was, from the beginning, a political “enemy list,” mentioning 197 subpoenas issued to various Republican entities as a significant abuse of power.
He further noted that Boasberg’s order prohibited AT&T from informing him about the subpoena for at least a year, leading Cruz to quip, “My guess is that Judge Boasberg printed out these materials one after another like Denny’s placemats.” It’s reported that records for nine members were subpoenaed.
“I am now calling on the House to impeach Judge Boasberg,” Cruz asserted, adding that Boasberg seemed to have aligned himself with a “partisan vendetta” against a substantial portion of Senate Republicans.
Support for Cruz’s stance emerged from another senator. Eric Schmidt (R-Missouri) stated, “What Boasberg did to Senator Cruz and perhaps other senators absolutely deserves an impeachment proceeding. There has to be accountability.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has indicated that Arctic Frost documents revealed eight senators and one representative were subject to phone subpoenas recently.
In the past, Judge Boasberg has been part of several contentious decisions involving the Trump administration, including ruling in August to release a woman accused of threatening Trump’s life.
Cruz responded to Boasberg’s justification for AT&T’s injunction that suggested disclosure could harm evidence and intimidate witnesses, claiming there was “absolutely no evidence” supporting that notion. He denounced the order as a clear abuse of power and a manifestation of a “weaponized legal system.”
This isn’t Boasberg’s first encounter with calls for impeachment. Previously, President Trump labeled him a “far-left lunatic of a judge” following a ruling against deporting suspects linked to a terrorist organization.
