U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts issued an exceedingly rare statement Wednesday reaffirming the independence of the American judiciary in response to President Trump’s withering criticism of the 9thCircuit Court of Appeals.* A 9thCircuit judge in Northern California issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday halting the new Trump administration policy that prohibits migrants that enter the country illegally from seeking asylum.
“It’s a disgrace when every case gets filed in the 9th Circuit,” Trump said in a lengthy rant against the court’s decision. “That’s not law. Every case in the 9thCircuit we get beaten and then we end up having to go to the Supreme Court like the travel ban and we won. Every case, no matter where it is, they file is practically, for all intents and purposes, they file it in what’s called the 9th Circuit. This was an Obama judge. I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.”
Trump’s outburst is the latest in a series of corrosive presidential attacks on the judiciary over the past nearly two years. As president, Trump has railed against his opponents’ preference for filing lawsuits against his policies in the liberal-leaning 9thCircuit Court of Appeals; during Obama’s presidency many of the Obama administration’s policies were challenged by the right in the conservative-leaning 5thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit is the largest federal appellate court in the country, covering Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. There are currently more than twice as many judges appointed by Democratic presidents than Republican ones on the 9thCircuit, 16 judges to 7, but Trump has the opportunity to remake the composition of the court with five nominees to the 9thCircuit with one more vacancy to fill.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementRoberts’ comments Wednesday, coming from the Chief Justice, amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of the president’s rhetoric degrading the courts. Trump’s deriding the justice who heard the asylum case as an “Obama judge” seemed to particularly Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, the most. “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
Trump took the opportunity to double back on the low road, shooting back:
AdvertisementSorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have “Obama judges,” and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an “independent judiciary,” but if it is why......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
.....are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security - these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
Correction, Nov. 22, 2018: This post originally misidentified John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court. He is chief justice of the United States.
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