Chief justice rebukes Trump for call to impeach judge over deportation case

John Roberts, the chief justice of the US supreme court, yesterday delivered a rare rebuke of Donald Trump after he demanded the impeachment of a federal judge who had issued a ruling against the administration blocking the deportation of hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members.

- Hugo Lowell and Joseph Gedeon

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Roberts said in a statement.

The statement came hours after Trump assailed the chief US district judge in Washington DC, James Boasberg, for issuing a temporary restraining order halting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 that gives the president the power to conduct removals without due process.

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" Trump had said about Boasberg, labelling him a "Radical Left Lunaticofa Judge" and a "troublemaker".

Trump's personal attack against Boasberg reflected his broader resentment at being increasingly constrained in recent weeks by court orders he believes are wrong, and his frustration at having his signature deportation policy halted while subject to legal scrutiny.