Back in April, Judge Boasberg all but announced that he would appoint a special counsel to bring criminal contempt proceedings against Trump Administration officials. I wrote about those orders here, here, and here. A divided D.C. Circuit panel granted a stay (Katsas and Rao), with Judge Pillard in dissent. Today, the panel issued a divided opinion. Judges Katsas and Rao granted the government's mandamus petition, while Judge Pillard would have denied it. Judges Katsas and Rao agree on the bottom line, but they disagree on the reasoning. One particular point of disagreement has some significance for future proceedings.
Judge Katsas found that Judge Boasberg lacks jurisdiction to initiate any further proceedings, since the Supreme Court found that this case belongs in Texas, not D.C.
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