Misinformation targets judge who ruled against Trump in deportation case

President Donald Trump has called for the impeachment of a federal judge who ruled the administration overstepped its authority in deporting alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, but social media claims that Judge James Boasberg's orders are invalid because he filed an improper oath of office are false. The wording of the document matches that required by law and legal experts say it is not basis to challenge the legitimacy of the jurist who has been on the bench since 2002.

"BREAKING Judge James Boasberg, the partisan hack who ordered TDA gang members be returned to America does NOT have a valid oath of office," claims a March 19, 2025 post on X.

On Instagram, similar posts allege that the oath signed by Boasberg, upon being appointed as a federal judge is invalid. While on Facebook a post points in particular to the capitalization of "SO HELP ME GOD" as the problem, saying it "means his orders have no standing."

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Screenshot of a post from X taken April 1, 2025

Other posts published on X reference a photo of the justice's 2011 oath with "refusal for cause" and "no!!" written in red across the document.

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Screenshot of post on X taken March 24, 2025

Boasberg angered the White House when he ruled that the government lacked authority to deport alleged gang members without due process. The president's call for Boasberg's impeachment drew a rare public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

The judge was further targeted for removal by a House resolution introduced by Arizona Representative Andy Biggs  (archived here and here).

But the claims that the oath signed by Boasberg in 2011 invalidates his rulings are false.

US code stipulates the wording of judicial oaths (archived here). The document signed by Boasberg includes the same language as the "combined oath" which affirms the promise to administer justice in an impartial manner and defend the Constitution of the United States (archived here).

Posts from January 6 defendant

Keyword and reverse image searches trace the version of the oath covered in red writing to Frank Rocco Giustino, who was sentenced by Boasberg to three months in prison on charges of illegal entry and violence in connection with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Giustino was later pardoned in January 2025 when Trump took office.

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Screenshot of a post on X taken April 1, 2025

Giustino has a history of posting conspiratorial content and recent claims against Boasberg are a part of broader unfounded allegations that multiple US judges have invalid oaths of office. 

Giustino first made the claim in a September 2023 appeal during his criminal case (archived here). He alleged that Boasberg violated the US code for oaths of justices and judges by capitalizing "so help me God" (archived here), arguing this rendered the ruling on his case invalid. 

As part of his appeal, Giustino submitted a copy of Boasberg's 2011 oath, which he had requested from the government via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). AFP also requested the document from the court, but a response was not forthcoming.

Boasberg allowed for the document to be filed as part of the case, but the Court did not validate the claim as true. 

During a hearing for Giustino's trial on June 26, 2023, Boasberg stated: "I am not withdrawing as the judge, nor am I vacating your plea simply, because you have some fabricated issue regarding the oath" (archived here).

No legal merit

Legal experts also said that claims on Boasberg's oath lack validity.

Bruce Ackerman, a legal scholar at Yale University (archived here), told AFP that challenges to Boasberg's oath are "without merit." He said they seek to divert attention from President Trump's "constitutional assault" on the judge.

In a March 28, 2025 email, Ackerman highlighted that the 2011 document was neither the judge's first, nor most recent federal oath of office.

In September 2002, Boasberg was sworn into service as an associate judge in the District of Columbia's Superior Court following a nomination by George W. Bush. He was appointed to the District Court for the District of Columbia in 2011 by Barack Obama and confirmed by unanimous vote in the Senate (archived here and here). 

Boasberg was nominated to his current role of Chief Judge in 2023, an appointment confirmed by the Republican controlled Senate (archived here).

Georgetown University professor of law William Buzbee (archived here) also dismissed the claim in a March 27, 2025 email. "It sounds like a frivolous argument about a judge long held in high esteem and who worked for years as a judge with no questions about his appointment's validity."

More of AFP's reporting on US political misinformation is available here.