Justice Department asks appeals court to block judge’s contempt inquiry in mass deportation case

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WASHINGTON — The Justice Department asked an appeals court Friday to block a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March.

The department also is seeking Chief Judge James Boasberg’s removal from the case, accusing him of a “radical, retaliatory, unconstitutional campaign” against the Trump administration.

It marks a dramatic escalation in the Justice Department’s lengthy feud with the judge appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, setting the stage for a showdown over the judiciary’s power to serve as a check on an administration that has pushed the boundaries of court orders.

The department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for