President Donald Trump has doubled down on his response to a rare criticism from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The president wished a “HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!” on Thursday morning, but 20 minutes later saw fit to renew a conflict that began on Wednesday.
The president repeated the claim that the “9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster,” which has been legislating the security of America while not knowing anything about this.
“Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result. Judges must not Legislate Security…and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else,” he said. “They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!”
In case you missed it, Roberts criticized Trump for the first time by taking issue with the president’s labeling of a judge as an “Obama judge.” Roberts saw the head of the executive branch’s politicization of the ruling as a serious threat to the independence of the judiciary.
Trump had criticized Barack Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar for ruling against his migrant asylum policy. Tigar blocked Trump this week from banning asylum seekers who didn’t enter at an official port of entry.
“Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Tigar said. “[Congress] clearly commanded […] that any alien who arrives in the United States, irrespective of that alien’s status, may apply for asylum — ‘whether or not at a designated port of arrival.’”
Trump reacted by saying that “The 9th Circuit is something we have to take a look at because it is not fair,” writing off Tigar as an “Obama judge.”
Chief Justice Roberts rebuked the president on Wednesday in the following statement:
We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. 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.
After that, the American Bar Association jumped into the fray, saying “We agree with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ observation that we do not have ‘Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,’ and that an ‘independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.’”
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump responded to Roberts for the first time, saying, actually there are “Obama judges.”
“Please study the numbers, they are shocking,” he warned.
[Image via Win McNamee/Getty Images]
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