Judge Boasberg cleared of Justice Department ethics complaint

On Feb. 1, 2026, a high-ranking federal appeals judge dismissed an ethics complaint filed by the Justice Department against Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in an order signed by Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and posted to the court’s website.

The seven-page dismissal found that Chad Mizelle, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi, failed to substantiate allegations that Judge Boasberg violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges with comments he was accused of making at a private meeting of judges, and said that even if the comments had been substantiated there was nothing inappropriate about them.

Judge Sutton’s order said Mr. Mizelle did not provide evidence that Judge Boasberg had actually made the comments at the heart of the complaint and noted that a referenced “Attachment A” appears never to have been provided despite a court follow-up request. The order added, “A recycling of unadorned allegations with no reference to a source does not corroborate them.” Mr.

Mizelle, the Justice Department and Judge Boasberg did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. The complaint, filed in July, came as part of a broader effort by administration officials and allies to criticize judges who rule against the Trump administration.

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