Latest news with #Trump-nominated
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump aims to build a MAGA judiciary, breaking with traditional conservatives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is signaling a new approach to selecting judges in his second term, departing from his first-term formula of younger up-and-comers, elite credentials and pedigrees in traditional conservative ideology and instead leaning toward unapologetically combative, MAGA-friendly nominees. The president turned heads last week by launching a searing attack on Leonard Leo and the conservative legal network known as the Federalist Society, which played a major role in selecting and steering 234 Trump-nominated judges, including three Supreme Court justices, through Senate confirmation during his first term. Trump's transformation of the federal courts and the creation of 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority, which led to the overturning of the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade in 2022, was possibly his biggest achievement in his first term. But Trump slammed Leo as a 'sleazebag' in late May after a panel of judges, including one he appointed, blocked some of his tariffs. 'I am so disappointed in the Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous judicial nominations,' he wrote on Truth Social. Leo, who declined an interview request, praised Trump's first term judicial appointments, saying in a statement that they will be his 'most important legacy.' Of Trump's early judicial nominees in his second term, much attention has been focused on his decision to tap Emil Bove, his former personal criminal defense lawyer and current Justice Department official, to serve on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'What's different about him is that MAGA world is very excited about him because it sees him as someone who has been ruthlessly implementing the White House's wishes,' said Ed Whelan, a veteran conservative judicial nominations analyst who works at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The president's early actions have raised warning signs among conservative lawyers who favor a nonpartisan judiciary. 'It's potentially a watershed moment in the relationship between Trump and the traditional conservative legal movement,' said Gregg Nunziata, former chief nominations counsel to Senate Republicans who now leads the Society for the Rule of Law, a group of right-leaning lawyers that has been critical of Trump. 'There are allies and advisers to the president who have been agitating for a different kind of judge — one more defined by loyalty to the president and advancing his agenda, rather than one more defined by conservative jurisprudence.' Nunziata warned that the president is 'turning his back on' his first-term legacy of prioritizing conservative jurisprudence. Trump's social media posts were welcomed by some conservatives who want a new approach to judicial nominations in his second term — including Mike Davis, another former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations, who runs the conservative Article III Project advocacy group and offers his suggestions to the White House on judicial nominees. Trump needs to avoid 'typical FedSoc elitists' who were 'too weak to speak out' on issues like what MAGA world perceives as lawfare against Trump during the Biden years, Davis said. 'We need to have evidence that these judicial nominees are going to be bold and fearless for the Constitution, and there were plenty of opportunities for them over the last five years to demonstrate that,' he added. Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who mixes in Federalist Society circles, said some federal judges may have concerns about stepping down if they are not convinced Trump will replace them with someone they consider to be qualified. Certain judges, Adler said, want to be succeeded by 'someone that understands the judicial role, understands that their obligation is to follow the law and apply the law, as opposed to someone that is seen as a political hack and is going to rule in a particular way merely because that's what their team is supposed to want.' Whelan said he has heard a sitting judge express such concerns. "I recently heard from a conservative judge who has decided not to take senior status because of concerns over who would be picked as his or her successor," he said. He declined to name the judge. During the first term, Leo played a key role in advising Trump on whom to pick. He helped come up with a list of potential Supreme Court nominees during the 2016 election, when some on the right were worried Trump would not pick a justice who was sufficiently conservative to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier that year. In Trump's second-term, the deputy White House counsel for nominations, Steve Kenny, has daily oversight of judicial nominations with input from chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel David Warrington and Trump himself, among others. Like Davis, Kenny previously worked for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'In choosing these judges, we are looking for judges who are constitutionalists, who won't be judicial activists on the bench,' a senior White House official said. The administration is looking for judges whose judicial philosophy is similar to conservative Supreme Court justices such as Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, the official added. Both are seen within MAGA world as more aligned with Trump than his own appointees to the court: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Despite the alliance with Leo delivering achievements that many Senate Republicans take pride in, few were willing to jump to his defense in the wake of Trump's personal attack. 'I'm not going to get involved in those personality conflicts,' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., another Judiciary Committee member, pleaded the Fifth: 'That's between Leonard and the president.' But, he added, 'I like the Federalist Society.' Grassley praised Trump's initial slate of nominees. 'Republicans remain laser-focused on putting strong conservatives on the federal bench,' he said. 'President Trump's first five judicial nominees, who all came before the Judiciary Committee this week, are high-caliber legal minds who will faithfully defend the Constitution and serve the American people well.' Despite the first-term success, there were already indications once Trump was re-elected that his second-term approach to judicial nominations would differ. Leo is no longer advising Trump, and both the president and his allies have been sharply critical of judges who have ruled against the administration in its early months over its aggressive use of executive power. Barrett has been one target, as have some lower court judges. 'Federalist Society lawyers are very bright. They're very intellectual, kind of the academic side of the law. This Trump White House is looking for more practical judges,' said a senior Republican lawyer close to the White House. 'A second element is there are some decisions that have been made by Amy Coney Barrett, in particular, that really disappointed the Trump administration, and Trump people more broadly, and that has filtered down to some of these lower court decisions," the lawyer added. For Democrats, Trump's public break with the Federalist Society — along with another move to refuse to cooperate with the American Bar Association, which traditionally provides recommendations on judicial nominees — are part of the same trend. "They don't want anyone looking over the shoulders of nominees to find out what they believe, what they've said and what they've done," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday during the first hearing for Trump's new wave of nominees. So far, Trump has announced two nominees to the influential federal appeals courts, as well as nine district court nominees. In addition to Bove, the other appeals court nominee is Whitney Hermandorfer, who has been tapped for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While Bove is not viewed as the type of nominee Leo might suggest, Hermandorfer is seen as a traditional Federalist Society pick. She served as a law clerk for Barrett and Alito, as well as for Kavanaugh when he was an appeals court judge. Hermandorfer has also been involved in some culture war litigation while serving under Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. She is 'very much in the Trump 1.0 Federalist Society mode,' said Russell Wheeler, a scholar at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution who tracks judicial nominations. Five of Trump's district court nominees are from Florida, and four are from Missouri. Hermandorfer, joined by the Missouri nominees. appeared at the confirmation hearing Wednesday where she said her job would not be to do the president's bidding. "That would not be my role. My role would be to carry out my oath,' she said. Hermandorfer called the Federalist Society, of which she is a member, a "wonderful place" to discuss issues with other lawyers. According to the federal judiciary, there are 49 pending vacancies, with only three of them on the appeals courts. Another three have announced plans to step down. The Republican lawyer close to the White House said it is a little early to know how different Trump's second-term picks will be from the first because the president got off to a slow start in nominating his first batch of judges. Trump may struggle to match the numbers of his first term, in part because this time around there are not as many vacancies as there were in 2017. Then, Trump benefited from a Republican Senate that blocked many of President Barack Obama's picks, including his nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland. Legal activists tend to focus more on federal appeals court nominees than district court nominees because they have more power to change the law and are often more likely to be tipped for potential slots on the Supreme Court. There are currently 24 Republican-appointed appeals court judges in total who are eligible for retirement, according to Wheeler. Generally, judges are more likely to step down when a president of the same party who appointed them is in office. Even if Trump wants to depart from the Leo playbook, he will find it difficult to find qualified conservative lawyers who do not have some links with the Federalist Society, Whelan said. 'If you are looking for talented lawyers with the sort of experience that would make them good judges, most of the people you are looking at are going to be Federalist Society types,' he added. Kenny, for example, who holds daily oversight over nominations at the White House, 'is definitely a proud member of the Federalist Society,' the lawyer said. 'But he's also going to follow the administration's lead on the kinds of judges they want.' Nunziata said it's up to GOP senators to push back on nominees like Bove, warning that acquiescing would send a signal to Trump that he has a 'free hand' to nominate more individuals like him, including to a possible Supreme Court vacancy. 'I hope there will be pushback. Time will tell,' he said, citing former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's key role in steering Trump's first-term judicial nominees. 'I would expect him to be alarmed by this turn and to fight against it with his remaining time in the Senate.' McConnell's office declined to comment. Democrats say that with nominees like Bove, Trump is making it more explicit that he simply wants loyalists. 'He's putting in all the people that will support him, or have a relationship to him,' Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. 'That's what it's all about for the president. … He just wants people who will support what he wants.' But when asked if she believes Republicans will stand up to some of Trump's judicial nominees, Hirono responded wryly. 'Of course not,' she said. This article was originally published on
NBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump aims to build a MAGA judiciary, breaking with traditional conservatives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is signaling a new approach to selecting judges in his second term, departing from his first-term formula of younger up-and-comers, elite credentials and pedigrees in traditional conservative ideology and instead leaning toward unapologetically combative, MAGA-friendly nominees. The president turned heads last week by launching a searing attack on Leonard Leo and the conservative legal network known as the Federalist Society, which played a major role in selecting and steering 234 Trump-nominated judges, including three Supreme Court justices, through Senate confirmation during his first term. Trump's transformation of the federal courts and the creation of 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority, which led to the overturning of the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade in 2022, was possibly his biggest achievement in his first term. But Trump slammed Leo as a 'sleazebag' in late May after a panel of judges, including one he appointed, blocked some of his tariffs. 'I am so disappointed in the Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous judicial nominations,' he wrote on Truth Social. Leo, who declined an interview request, praised Trump's first term judicial appointments, saying in a statement that they will be his 'most important legacy.' Of Trump's early judicial nominees in his second term, much attention has been focused on his decision to tap Emil Bove, his former personal criminal defense lawyer and current Justice Department official, to serve on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'What's different about him is that MAGA world is very excited about him because it sees him as someone who has been ruthlessly implementing the White House's wishes,' said Ed Whelan, a veteran conservative judicial nominations analyst who works at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The president's early actions have raised warning signs among conservative lawyers who favor a nonpartisan judiciary. 'It's potentially a watershed moment in the relationship between Trump and the traditional conservative legal movement,' said Gregg Nunziata, former chief nominations counsel to Senate Republicans who now leads the Society for the Rule of Law, a group of right-leaning lawyers that has been critical of Trump. 'There are allies and advisers to the president who have been agitating for a different kind of judge — one more defined by loyalty to the president and advancing his agenda, rather than one more defined by conservative jurisprudence.' Nunziata warned that the president is 'turning his back on' his first-term legacy of prioritizing conservative jurisprudence. Trump's social media posts were welcomed by some conservatives who want a new approach to judicial nominations in his second term — including Mike Davis, another former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations, who runs the conservative Article III Project advocacy group and offers his suggestions to the White House on judicial nominees. Trump needs to avoid 'typical FedSoc elitists' who were 'too weak to speak out' on issues like what MAGA world perceives as lawfare against Trump during the Biden years, Davis said. 'We need to have evidence that these judicial nominees are going to be bold and fearless for the Constitution, and there were plenty of opportunities for them over the last five years to demonstrate that,' he added. Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who mixes in Federalist Society circles, said some federal judges may have concerns about stepping down if they are not convinced Trump will replace them with someone they consider to be qualified. Certain judges, Adler said, want to be succeeded by 'someone that understands the judicial role, understands that their obligation is to follow the law and apply the law, as opposed to someone that is seen as a political hack and is going to rule in a particular way merely because that's what their team is supposed to want.' Whelan said he has heard a sitting judge express such concerns. "I recently heard from a conservative judge who has decided not to take senior status because of concerns over who would be picked as his or her successor," he said. He declined to name the judge. GOP senators steer clear of Trump-Leo clash During the first term, Leo played a key role in advising Trump on whom to pick. He helped come up with a list of potential Supreme Court nominees during the 2016 election, when some on the right were worried Trump would not pick a justice who was sufficiently conservative to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier that year. In Trump's second-term, the deputy White House counsel for nominations, Steve Kenny, has daily oversight of judicial nominations with input from chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel David Warrington and Trump himself, among others. Like Davis, Kenny previously worked for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'In choosing these judges, we are looking for judges who are constitutionalists, who won't be judicial activists on the bench,' a senior White House official said. The administration is looking for judges whose judicial philosophy is similar to conservative Supreme Court justices such as Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, the official added. Both are seen within MAGA world as more aligned with Trump than his own appointees to the court: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Despite the alliance with Leo delivering achievements that many Senate Republicans take pride in, few were willing to jump to his defense in the wake of Trump's personal attack. 'I'm not going to get involved in those personality conflicts,' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., another Judiciary Committee member, pleaded the Fifth: 'That's between Leonard and the president.' But, he added, 'I like the Federalist Society.' Grassley praised Trump's initial slate of nominees. 'Republicans remain laser-focused on putting strong conservatives on the federal bench,' he said. 'President Trump's first five judicial nominees, who all came before the Judiciary Committee this week, are high-caliber legal minds who will faithfully defend the Constitution and serve the American people well.' Despite the first-term success, there were already indications once Trump was re-elected that his second-term approach to judicial nominations would differ. Leo is no longer advising Trump, and both the president and his allies have been sharply critical of judges who have ruled against the administration in its early months over its aggressive use of executive power. Barrett has been one target, as have some lower court judges. 'Federalist Society lawyers are very bright. They're very intellectual, kind of the academic side of the law. This Trump White House is looking for more practical judges,' said a senior Republican lawyer close to the White House. 'A second element is there are some decisions that have been made by Amy Coney Barrett, in particular, that really disappointed the Trump administration, and Trump people more broadly, and that has filtered down to some of these lower court decisions," the lawyer added. For Democrats, Trump's public break with the Federalist Society — along with another move to refuse to cooperate with the American Bar Association, which traditionally provides recommendations on judicial nominees — are part of the same trend. "They don't want anyone looking over the shoulders of nominees to find out what they believe, what they've said and what they've done," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday during the first hearing for Trump's new wave of nominees. 'The Trump 1.0 Federalist Society mode' So far, Trump has announced two nominees to the influential federal appeals courts, as well as nine district court nominees. In addition to Bove, the other appeals court nominee is Whitney Hermandorfer, who has been tapped for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While Bove is not viewed as the type of nominee Leo might suggest, Hermandorfer is seen as a traditional Federalist Society pick. She served as a law clerk for Barrett and Alito, as well as for Kavanaugh when he was an appeals court judge. Hermandorfer has also been involved in some culture war litigation while serving under Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. She is 'very much in the Trump 1.0 Federalist Society mode,' said Russell Wheeler, a scholar at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution who tracks judicial nominations. Five of Trump's district court nominees are from Florida, and four are from Missouri. Hermandorfer, joined by the Missouri nominees. appeared at the confirmation hearing Wednesday where she said her job would not be to do the president's bidding. "That would not be my role. My role would be to carry out my oath,' she said. Hermandorfer called the Federalist Society, of which she is a member, a "wonderful place" to discuss issues with other lawyers. According to the federal judiciary, there are 49 pending vacancies, with only three of them on the appeals courts. Another three have announced plans to step down. The Republican lawyer close to the White House said it is a little early to know how different Trump's second-term picks will be from the first because the president got off to a slow start in nominating his first batch of judges. Trump may struggle to match the numbers of his first term, in part because this time around there are not as many vacancies as there were in 2017. Then, Trump benefited from a Republican Senate that blocked many of President Barack Obama's picks, including his nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland. Legal activists tend to focus more on federal appeals court nominees than district court nominees because they have more power to change the law and are often more likely to be tipped for potential slots on the Supreme Court. There are currently 24 Republican-appointed appeals court judges in total who are eligible for retirement, according to Wheeler. Generally, judges are more likely to step down when a president of the same party who appointed them is in office. 'Activist judges with an agenda' Even if Trump wants to depart from the Leo playbook, he will find it difficult to find qualified conservative lawyers who do not have some links with the Federalist Society, Whelan said. 'If you are looking for talented lawyers with the sort of experience that would make them good judges, most of the people you are looking at are going to be Federalist Society types,' he added. Kenny, for example, who holds daily oversight over nominations at the White House, 'is definitely a proud member of the Federalist Society,' the lawyer said. 'But he's also going to follow the administration's lead on the kinds of judges they want.' Nunziata said it's up to GOP senators to push back on nominees like Bove, warning that acquiescing would send a signal to Trump that he has a 'free hand' to nominate more individuals like him, including to a possible Supreme Court vacancy. 'I hope there will be pushback. Time will tell,' he said, citing former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's key role in steering Trump's first-term judicial nominees. 'I would expect him to be alarmed by this turn and to fight against it with his remaining time in the Senate.' McConnell's office declined to comment. Democrats say that with nominees like Bove, Trump is making it more explicit that he simply wants loyalists. 'He's putting in all the people that will support him, or have a relationship to him,' Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. 'That's what it's all about for the president. … He just wants people who will support what he wants.' 'Of course not,' she said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Outrage erupts after Trump's Chrisley pardon as critics condemn what it says about president's regard for the law
President Donald Trump is facing fierce criticism after he decided to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley. The Chrisleys, best known for their Chrisley Knows Best TV show, were serving prison sentences for fraud and tax evasion. They were convicted in 2022 and sentenced to 12 years (Todd) and seven years (Julie). The White House confirmed the couple's full pardons on Tuesday. Speaking to their children during a phone call from the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump said: 'Your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we're going to do it by tomorrow.' 'They were given pretty harsh treatment based on what I'm hearing,' he added. The move prompted widespread criticism. 'Trump just pardoned TV personalities Todd and Julie Chrisley, who conspired to defraud Atlanta-area banks out of $30 million in fraudulent loans. In Trump's America, crimes are celebrated and prison sentences are cut short,' said Harry Sisson, a Democratic influencer, on X, calling it 'actual insanity.' In another post, Sisson noted that the pardons for the Chrisleys come as Trump also pardoned 'a corrupt Virginia sheriff who took over $75,000 in bribes' (Trump called him a 'wonderful person'), and a 'man convicted of serious tax crimes, whose mom donated $1 million to Trump and worked on his campaigns.' Sisson called it 'blatant corruption.' 'Oh, Trump's going to pardon the Chrisleys? I'm stunned,' sarcastically noted Phillip Bump, a columnist for The Washington Post, on BlueSky. Anna Bower, a reporter for Lawfare, wrote on BlueSky that the Chrisleys were 'indicted by a federal grand jury in 2019, during the first Trump administration.' 'The Trump-nominated U.S. attorney was Byung Jin "BJay" Pak. He was forced to resign in early 2021 after Trump became convinced he wasn't doing enough to investigate purported election fraud in GA,' she added. 'Their [the Chrisleys'] daughter, Savannah, campaigned for Trump. During a speech at the RNC in 2024, she said her parents were 'persecuted' for their political beliefs,' Bower noted. 'I shudder to think about what Savannah Chrisley had to do to secure those pardons for her parents,' lawyer Amee Vanderpool said on X. "For context: The Chrisleys are well-known Trump supporters," Ally Sammarco, a Democratic strategist, told her followers on X. Singer-songwriter Ricky Davila added: 'The orange felon pardoned corrupt Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins who was convicted of bribery and fraud, now he pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley who defrauded banks. Because nothing says law and order like a felon gifting pardons to other felons for their loyalty.'
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Who is the judge Trump wants impeached over Venezuelan deportations?
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Who is US District Judge James E. Boasberg? Advertisement James E. Boasberg is a former homicide prosecutor who has served 23 years as a judge in Washington, appointed by presidents of both parties. He took over as chief judge of the high-profile federal trial court in the nation's capital in March 2023, where he oversaw disputes over grand jury investigations involving former president Donald Trump, including claims of executive privilege over Vice President Mike Pence's testimony. His rulings were upheld by an appellate panel. A native Washingtonian, the 6-foot, 6-inch Boasberg played basketball for St. Albans School and Yale University, where he graduated with undergraduate and law degrees. He earned a master's degree in history from the University of Oxford. Boasberg, 62, who goes by Jeb, has a history of bipartisan support. President George W. Bush appointed him in 2002 to the DC Superior Court, which oversees criminal and civil matters in the District, and President Barack Obama named him in 2011 to the US District Court. A law school housemate of Trump-nominated Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Boasberg has been noted as a feeder judge whose law clerks have been picked for similar posts at the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. named Boasberg presiding judge of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from January 2020 to May 2021. Advertisement Glenn Kirschner, Boasberg's supervisor at the US attorney's office for the District of Columbia, recalled assigning him the toughest homicide cases. He called Boasberg 'a singularly remarkable prosecutor. I say that because he never lost a murder case. And because he would never tell anybody he never lost a murder case. It wasn't in his DNA to talk about himself or his accomplishments.' Kirschner said: 'I don't think there's anybody better suited or better equipped to handle these challenges to the independence of the judiciary, or challenges to American democracy. Boasberg oversaw changes to the FISA court after the Justice Department inspector general uncovered numerous errors and omissions in the FBI's requests to wiretap Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser, in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Boasberg barred officials who worked on the matter from future national-security wiretap applications and oversaw or imposed other internal changes at the FBI. Boasberg also ordered a review of all actions by FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who the inspector general said altered an email that one of his colleagues relied on to surveil Page. However, Clinesmith pleaded guilty in district court and after neither side objected to his past role in the matter, Boasberg sentenced Clinesmith to probation instead of prosecutors' request for prison time, gaining Trump supporters' condemnation. What did Trump say? In a social media post, Trump on Tuesday morning called Boasberg a 'Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator' who 'didn't WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!)' Trump said illegal immigration was key to his election victory, adding, 'I'm just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges' I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!' Advertisement The statement marked a departure from past Trump and White House remarks. 'I have not heard the president talk about impeaching judges,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday, distancing him from Elon Musk's call to impeach judges and defiance of court orders suggested by Vice President JD Vance. At a Pennsylvania rally in August, Trump criticized harassment and intimidation of judges by Democrats. 'The radical left harasses our judges and harasses our justices. They scream at them. They call them names. They say they're incompetent, they're horrible, they're this, they're that, they should be impeached,' Trump said Aug. 17 at Wilkes-Barre. 'They're constantly saying they should be impeached. But they're screaming. And you know what? It has an effect on some people.' Trump in November 2023 posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, 'Judge Engoron and Letitia James should be impeached and removed from office for fraudulently reducing my Asset Values, by many times, in order to hurt and demean me,' referring to New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, key figures in a financial fraud case in which Trump has appealed $500 million in penalties imposed on him and others after a civil trial. How has the judiciary and its defenders responded? Federal judges and their leaders - including Roberts - have condemned attacks against the courts, saying the judiciary plays a critical role in preserving democracy and a law-abiding society, and must be able to do their jobs with fear of violence or intimidation. Two federal judges in leadership positions, both appointed by Republican presidents, spoke out last week against threats of violence and impeachment. Advertisement 'Threats against judges are threats against constitutional government. Everyone should be taking this seriously,' said Judge Richard J. Sullivan, whom Trump appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City. Impeachment 'shouldn't be a short-circuiting' of the lawful course of judicial review by appeals courts and the Supreme Court, Sullivan added, and 'it is concerning if impeachment is used in a way that is designed to do just that.' Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati, a George W. Bush appointee, also told reporters after a meeting of the judiciary's governing body: 'Criticism is no surprise as part of the job. But I do think when it gets to the level of a threat, it really is about attacking judicial independence. And that's just not good for the system or the country.' Roberts warned Dec. 31 that judges nationwide are under increasing threat from violence, intimidation, disinformation and officials threatening to defy lawful court decisions or to revoke their lifetime appointments. An independent judiciary is among the crown jewels of the American system of government and no other country before had found a way to ensure that both the people and their government respect the law, Roberts wrote. 'Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings. These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected,' Roberts wrote in his end-of-year report after Trump was elected to a second term. What happens next? After its attorney refused to answer detailed questions at a Monday hearing, Boasberg directed the Justice Department to answer by noon Tuesday exactly when the government believes his order stopping the deportation flights went into effect, when and how many flights took off, and how many individuals were transferred into the receiving country's custody. Advertisement Boasberg did not say whether the government violated his order. Judges rarely find federal agencies in contempt, seeking instead to ensure compliance or good-faith progress toward legal requirements. Still, US officials are subject to the Constitution no matter where they are, including due process protections for people in the United States. The Alien Enemies Act was used in the past to imprison tens of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, for which the Congress later apologized. But courts also are required by precedent to be more deferential to the executive branch in matters regarding foreign relations, war powers and national security, and the admission and exclusion of foreign nationals. Boasberg can push to find out the facts and hold the government accountable. But the question may be whether any other remedy or penalty is available now that the migrants are deported to a Salvadoran prison, with Trump's Justice Department hardly inclined to pursue a separate criminal contempt prosecution. That set of circumstances could make the case - short of further deportations - an unlikely showdown over the constitutional separation of powers that some Trump advisers seem willing to trigger . It remains unclear how likely a three-judge panel chosen to hear the Trump administration's appeal of Boasberg's order would be to block his order after written briefings are due Wednesday. On Monday, Leavitt, Trump White House border czar Tom Homan and Justice Department lawyers argued that the administration acted within the bounds of immigration law, questioning variously whether Boasberg's immediate verbal order Saturday carried the same weight as his written order later, and disputing that US officials were required to turn around planes after they left US territory. However, Homan also suggested Monday that the administration would defy the court's order going forward. 'We're not stopping,' Homan told Fox News. 'I don't care what the judges think - I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming.' Ignoring the usual practice of filing an appeal or an emergency writ of mandamus seeking higher appellate court review, the Justice Department also asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to reassign the case from Boasberg, accusing him of 'micromanagement' of the executive branch. The circuit court gave no sign it was considering the unusual request.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump demands 'accountability' for his pursuers at Justice Department speech
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump on Friday vowed to seek accountability for those who pursued him during his years out of power, speaking at the U.S. Justice Department whose prosecutors had brought some of those cases. In a rare political speech at the department's Washington headquarters, Trump painted a dark picture of its trajectory prior to his return to office in January, saying it had been co-opted by "hacks and radicals." "I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred. The American people have given us a mandate - a mandate like few people thought possible," Trump said. Trump spoke to a department that twice indicted him during his years out of power on charges accusing him of illegally storing classified documents at his Florida club and plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has since left the department, dropped both cases after Trump won the November election, citing a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Neither reached a trial. Trump has long had an antagonistic relationship with the department, dating back to its investigation of ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russian government. He repeatedly claimed that Smith's cases against him were part of an effort to keep him from returning to power, using vows of retribution and claims of government 'weaponization' to fuel his political comeback. Prosecutors repeatedly denied any political influence in the cases. Trump-nominated Attorney General Pam Bondi has started an internal review of Smith's cases as well as other criminal cases and civil lawsuits brought against Trump during his years out of power.
