Two planes carrying Venezuelan migrants out of the United States were in midair March 15 when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Trump administration to turn them around.

Instead, the planes landed in El Salvador hours later, touching off an extraordinary power struggle between the judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government.

That fight entered a critical phase Friday when U.S. District Judge James Boasberg relaunched an investigation to determine whether the administration deliberately ignored his instruction, letting the planes continue onto El Salvador.

The judge previously concluded it did and threatened to have the responsible officials prosecuted on a contempt charge. The administration has denied any violation.

But an appeals court threw Boasberg’s decis

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