Federal judge temporarily changes grand jury rules after Trump effort to charge members of Congress
Judge orders new transparency rules after failed charges against lawmakers who urged military to disobey orders
By Eric Mack Fox News
Published March 19, 2026 8:04am EDT
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, a frequent thorn in President Donald Trump's side, ordered court procedures to require notice when a grand jury refuses to approve an indictment, at least temporarily.
The move, ordered earlier this month, follows the Trump administration’s failed effort to secure charges against six Democrat members of Congress, which Trump and his backers have called the "seditious six" for telling U.S. service members not to obey illegal orders.
"This Court has reviewed current practices relating to the return of indictments and notification of instances in which a grand jury has declined to indict," Boasberg wrote in the March 4 order.
"In furtherance of the interests of consistency and transparency, and pursuant to its authority under Rule 57.14(b), this Court finds that notification should be provided to the duty magistrate judge whenever a grand jury fails to concur in an indictment, regardless of whether the defendant has already been charged."
The order bullet-pointed three directives:
"When a grand jury fails to concur in an indictment in a GJO [Grand Jury Original] investigation, the foreperson shall promptly and in writing report the lack of concurrence to the duty magistrate judge under seal;
"Notifications provided pursuant to this order shall be maintained in the confidential files of the Clerk’s Office and will not be made public absent order of the Court; and
"This order shall remain in effect for 120 days, during which time the Court will consider the adoption of a local rule requiring such notifications. See LCvR 1.1(b)."
Trump's Justice Department had sought potential grand jury indictments of six Democrats in November — Reps. Jason Crow, D-Col.; Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ari.; and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. — for publicly calling for U.S. service members to reject unlawful orders.
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