NYCLA Defends Judicial Independence in Light of Attacks on Chief Judge Srinivasan and Chief Judge Boasberg

On November 17, six Senators sent a letter to Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, attacking Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as well as Chief Judge Srinivasan himself. The letter is, we believe, a direct assault on judicial independence. As a bar association, one of our missions is to defend the independence of the judiciary.

The letter, sent by Sens. Kevin Cramer, Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Michael Lee, Eric Schmitt and Tommy Tuberville, refers to Articles of Impeachment filed against Chief Judge Boasberg on November 4, 2025, which the writers claim enjoys “bicameral support.” The Articles concern Chief Judge Boasberg’s handling of certain issues involving Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of matters relating to the January 6 investigation and were assigned randomly to Chief Judge Boasberg.  The Articles amount to a partisan second-guessing of the manner in which Judge Boasberg handled those matters. 

The letter also refers to a judicial misconduct complaint filed by the Department of Justice against Chief Judge Boasberg, asking that he be suspended by Chief Judge Srinivasan pending determination of the complaint. The letter asserts that there is “precedent for administratively suspending” a judge subject to a misconduct complaint, citing a case involving allegations of bribery. No such allegation is being made here. Thus, the assertion is not apt.

The letter furthermore raises questions as to whether Chief Judge Srinivasan is meeting his statutory duty to conduct an “expeditious review” of, or to appoint a committee to investigate, these allegations.  It concludes by asking Chief Judge Srinivasan to report on the status and outcome of the matter.

This letter is, we believe, an attempt to intimidate and interfere with the independence of the federal judiciary in politically sensitive cases.  By pressing the Chief Judge of a Court of Appeals to conduct an ‘expeditious” investigation of a respected District Court judge in that judicial circuit without giving any reasonable basis, the six letter writers are transparently trying to push other district judges into an attitude of caution and reticence in dealing with such cases. The federal judiciary is an independent, co-equal branch of government, whose constitutional rule is to determine the law in matters before them. While judicial decisions may be subject to legitimate and thoughtful criticism, and operations of the federal judiciary may be subject to certain forms of congressional oversight, the motivations behind the sending of this particular letter are more transparent, and deleterious, than that.  The six senatorial authors are threatening the independence of the judiciary, and as a result, we condemn the letter.

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The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of NYCLA, its affiliates, its officers, or its Board.