President Donald Trump is “playing a very risky game,” according to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, following his latest verbal assault on a federal judge involved in a contentious legal battle over the deportation of hundreds of migrants. Haberman made the remarks Thursday evening during an appearance on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, where she analyzed the escalating tensions between the executive branch and the judiciary.
Trump recently slammed U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg, calling his rulings in the case “ridiculous, and inept,” as his administration pushes forward with efforts to remove migrants accused of posing national security threats. The case has drawn significant legal scrutiny and public attention due to the nature of the allegations and the administration’s aggressive stance.
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Haberman clarified the broader context: “This is very much a fight the administration wants, to be clear, is over this specific case,” she said. “You heard what the attorney general said. She is describing this as a case of judges and Democrats and people who criticize what happened here, wanting alleged terrorists, although she just calls them ‘terrorists,’ to stay in the country.”
However, Haberman pointed out that the case at hand is fundamentally about constitutional protections and legal process. “Asking about an order not being followed is what any judge would do no matter who they had been appointed by,” she explained, defending the judge’s role.

Turning to Trump’s rhetoric, Haberman offered a stern warning. “I actually think that what Trump said — yes, that was clearly an attack on Judge [Jeb] Boasberg, there’s no question about that — he’s playing a very risky game, because judges don’t like attacks on other judges,” she said.
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Despite the harsh tone of his remarks, Trump notably left out one of his usual demands. “He did not repeat the impeachment point. And I think that is the key point there,” Haberman noted. “I think he is trying to show he is still issuing a pressure campaign, he always does, we are going to continue to see him do that.”
She added that Trump’s previous calls for Congress to impeach judges have unsettled even his own allies. “His calls for Congress to impeach judges — which is very hard to make happen — has upset some of his own staff and it has upset leaders in the Senate and in the House,” she said. “So I think that this is him saying, ‘Fine I hear you’ — at least for now.” The case remains ongoing, with legal and political implications mounting on both sides.
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