WASHINGTON — A federal judge must drop his effort to determine whether the Trump administration intentionally violated his order barring deportations of a group of alleged Venezuelan gang members, an appeals court panel ruled Friday.

In a 2-1 opinion, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg exceeded his authority when he launched a criminal contempt inquiry in April requiring the Justice Department to either tell him what steps they would take to return the men to the U.S. or, in the alternative, identify which administration officials made the decision not to stop the deportation flights following his order.

In a concurrence, D.C. Circuit Court Judge Gregory Katsas, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said Boasberg’s initial restraining order bar

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