The Justice Department has accused U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell of displaying “hostility” toward President Donald Trump and is calling for her to recuse herself from a case in which she blocked his efforts to penalize a Democrat-linked law firm involved in supporting the infamous Steele dossier.
Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson said Friday that Howell has a track record of showing “disdain” for Trump, citing remarks she made in 2023 suggesting he could steer the country toward authoritarianism, as well as more recent criticism of his pardons for individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, the Washington Times reported.
The DOJ also pointed to what it described as unusual rulings by Howell in prior criminal cases involving Trump, including a decision where she labeled him a potential flight risk.
“Defendants deserve a court proceeding free from concerns about impartiality. In order to remove the possibility of any impartiality to these proceedings, defendants respectfully request that this court recuse itself,” Lawson argued in a court filing, The Times noted.
Howell is the second judge the Justice Department has moved to disqualify from a case this week, the outlet said.
The department also petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to remove Chief Judge James Boasberg, citing what it called extraordinary rulings that, according to the White House, infringe on Trump’s executive authority. Trump has personally called for Boasberg’s impeachment.
Both Howell and Boasberg serve on the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and both were appointed by President Barack Obama. “At least five cases challenging Mr. Trump are now pending before Judge Howell, and three are pending before Judge Boasberg,” The Times reported.
Howell is presiding over a lawsuit filed by the law firm Perkins Coie challenging an executive order issued by Trump. The order seeks to prevent the firm from conducting business with federal contractors and restricts their attorneys’ access to government buildings and officials, allegedly in retaliation for the firm’s previous work against Trump, CBS News reported.
“Perkins Coie was the conduit for the Clinton campaign to hire Fusion GPS, which employed Christopher Steele, who compiled a dossier of salacious and unsubstantiated rumors about Mr. Trump,” the Times said. “That dossier helped fuel the FBI’s now-discredited probe into Mr. Trump, which included fabricating evidence to obtain a secret surveillance warrant.”
Howell issued a temporary restraining order blocking parts of the executive order, citing potential constitutional violations. “During a hearing on the case, Judge Howell suggested Mr. Trump had ‘a bee in his bonnet’ over the dossier, which contained untrue allegations about the president and Russia,” said the Times.
“He keeps bringing it up. It’s like he doesn’t want any of us to forget Fusion GPS,” Howell said during a hearing on the matter.
Howell also oversaw proceedings related to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s actions, including matters concerning the handling of classified documents and events surrounding January 6.
Boasberg, meanwhile, is presiding over a case challenging the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals alleged to be gang members. He issued a temporary restraining order to halt these deportations last week, expressing concerns about the administration’s legal justifications and potential overreach. Despite his order, the administration proceeded with some deportations, leading to ongoing legal disputes. The Trump administration has argued that the president’s use of the act is not subject to judicial oversight.
In addition, Boasberg was involved in grand jury proceedings related to investigations into Trump’s first-term actions, including rulings that directed former Vice President Mike Pence to testify as part of a special counsel probe into Trump and the events of January 6, NPR reported.