Hawley, Schmitt Torch Boasberg As They Lay Groundwork for Impeachment

Congress is back in session after the holiday break, and they're back to holding hearings, such as this one, on Wednesday, in which many of us share a keen interest: The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights — Impeachment: Holding Rogue Judges Accountable

As RedState reported, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) led the charge, calling for the impeachment of both D.C. District Judge James Boasberg and Maryland District Judge Deborah Boardman.

Missouri's senators — Josh Hawley (R) and Eric Schmitt (R) both serve on the subcommittee, and each weighed in with some critical points underscoring why the impeachment of Judge Boasberg, in particular, may well be warranted.

During his questioning of George Mason Law Professor Rob Luther, Hawley asked several questions aimed at driving home the point that Judge Boasberg's actions — particularly as they relate to the Arctic Frost subpoenas and non-disclosure agreements regarding senators' phone records — crossed the line.

Senator Hawley Questions Witnesses During a Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on 1.7.26 pic.twitter.com/0S4oCmJ2Ty
— Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) January 7, 2026

HAWLEY: I’ll start with you, Professor Luther, and just see if I can figure out what the baseline here is. We’ve now learned today — it's been said over and over by our Democrat colleagues — that Judge Boasberg can’t be held to account, and he did nothing wrong because he had no idea — no idea — whose records he was issuing subpoenas for. And he didn’t inquire; he didn’t ask. He just signed it, as Senator Cruz was just saying. That is despite 2 U.S.C. § 6628(c). So, is that just how it works — that it’s just, it's fine; the judge can just — whatever...DOJ says — he doesn’t need to inquire; separation of powers concerns he doesn’t need to ask about it. It doesn’t matter — he can just sign it?
LUTHER: That's certainly not how it's supposed to be, but based on the evidence that's publicly disclosed, that seems to be the best evidence of what happened.
HAWLEY: And is that how non-disclosure orders work as well? That you can get a non-disclosure order against specific individuals — not to notify specific individuals — if there's some suggestion that somewhere someone in the universe might disclose or tamper with evidence somehow in some way. Is that how a specific non-disclosure order works? I've never heard of such a thing, but maybe I just missed it.
LUTHER: No. That’s the point where Smith’s team should’ve told Judge Boasberg, "These are senators, and there are different obligations under the law for how we treat them."
HAWLEY: I’ve never heard of a non-disclosure order — I was the attorney general of my state; we've sought these things in the past — I’ve never heard of one where you said, "Well actually, we don’t, we can’t offer you any evidence that any of the people targeted in the order would actually tamper, but somebody out there somewhere might, maybe — take our word for it, sign the order," and he does it anyway.
I mean, let me just say it this way: Does this actually exonerate Judge Boasberg? I mean, does this make it better? My Democrat colleagues have offered this as, "Oh, he was just doing his job." Does this make it better or worse?
LUTHER: No, I think what has shifted from maybe a month ago when this broke for the first time is, it’s not so much that Judge Boasberg is being intentionally — it’s not intentional; it’s more negligent. And that’s, I think, the situation.
HAWLEY: Yeah, it's grossly negligent.

Hawley went on to make a broader point about the weaponization of the government against ordinary American citizens over the past several years.

Arctic Frost Just Got a Lot Worse, As Biden DOJ’s Most Expansive Hunt for GOP Phone Records Revealed

Later, Schmitt summed up the crux of the case for Boasberg's impeachment thusly:

Rogue Judge Boasberg is abusing his power to go after the Trump Administration. He must be impeached and removed.

He has abused his role as Chief Judge in 5 ways:

(1) Forcing himself onto hot button cases;

(2) Abusing his power in the Judicial Conference to fear monger to… pic.twitter.com/nJvkiIzF6E
— Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) January 8, 2026

Rogue Judge Boasberg is abusing his power to go after the Trump Administration. He must be impeached and removed.
He has abused his role as Chief Judge in 5 ways:
(1) Forcing himself onto hot button cases;
(2) Abusing his power in the Judicial Conference to fear monger to the Judiciary about the specter of a nonexistent Constitutional crisis;
(3) Rubber-stamping gag orders and subpoenas against U.S. Senators;
(4) Trying to hold DOJ lawyers in contempt for a case the Supreme Court said he had no jurisdiction over;
(5) He sits on the Circuit Judicial Council, which would be able to overturn any disciplinary action taken against him.
He has made it clear, time and time again that he, instead of wearing that black robe, wears a blue jersey.
The House must immediately begin impeachment proceedings.

Will the House take them up on this? I guess we'll find out.

Do I think we'll actually see Jeb Boasberg removed from the bench? Eh, I'm not going to hold my breath on that. But it would be nice if he had sufficient humility to keep this hearing in mind the next time he finds himself tempted to mistake his black robe and gavel for a crown.

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