Karoline Leavitt’s tirade against the “Democrat activist” judge at the center of a deportation-related court conflict was interrupted by an awkward exchange after she falsely said he was first appointed by Barack Obama.
Donald Trump’s press secretary was set straight by NBC’s White House Correspondent Garrett Haake, who said U.S District Judge James Boasberg was originally appointed by Republican President George W. Bush—and later elevated to the federal bench by Obama.
Bush gave Boasberg, now 62, his first job on the bench in 2002 as an associate judge on the Washington D.C. Superior Court before he was appointed as a federal judge by Obama in 2011. Boasberg was a former law school roommate of Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Donald Trump has lambasted Boasberg for trying to block his flights out of the country carrying “dangerous” Venezuelan men rounded up in ICE raids around the country.
In her press briefing on Wednesday, Leavitt blasted U.S. judges, claiming they were fomenting “ridiculous lawfare” against the administration and demanded the Supreme Court take action to “rein them in.”
“It’s very clear that this is an activist judge who is trying to usurp the president’s authority,” she said of Boasberg, who is questioning the illegality of the deportations.
“Under the Alien Enemies Act, the president has this power and that’s why this deportation campaign can be continued,” continued Leavitt.
“This judge, Judge Boasberg, is a Democrat activist,” she said. “He was appointed by Barack Obama. His wife has donated more than $10,000 to Democrats and he has consistently shown his disdain for this president and his policies and it’s unacceptable.”
Leavitt was then interrupted by NBC’s Haake, who had asked the initial question about the deportations. He said Judge Boasberg “was originally appointed by George W. Bush and elevated by Barack Obama. I just felt like I should correct that.”
Leavitt ignored the correction and pivoted to say: “Let me just say something to that effect, Garrett, 67% of all of the injunctions in this century have come against which president? Donald J. Trump.”
She continued: “Let me say that again, 60% of the injunctions by partisan activists in the judicial branch have come against President Donald Trump and 92% of those have been from Democrat-appointed judges. This is a clear concerted effort by leftists who don’t like this president and who are trying to impose or slow down his agenda.”
Earlier, she had told reporters: “The judge in this case is essentially trying to say that the president doesn’t have the executive authority to deport foreign terrorists from our American soil. That is an egregious abuse of the bench. This judge does not have that authority. That’s why we’re fighting this in court.”
