On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts made an uncommon statement to address a troubling pattern of President Donald Trump and his supporters using threats of impeachment against federal judges who have decided against the administration.
“For over 200 years, it has been recognized that impeachment is not an appropriate reaction to disagreement over a judicial ruling,” Roberts asserted in remarks provided to the press. “The normal appellate review process exists for that reason.”
This statement from Roberts was issued shortly after Trump demanded the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama, who recently ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to invoke the Alien Enemies Act for the deportation of hundreds without due process.
“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was regrettably appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected as President,” Trump stated in a social media post earlier that day.
Other prominent figures aligned with Trump, including billionaire Elon Musk, have echoed calls for Boasberg’s impeachment, and Republican members in the House have announced intentions to pursue articles of impeachment against him.
In an official statement from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the judge of supporting terrorism through his ruling.
Roberts had previously cautioned against political influence on federal judges in his annual report last year, noting that “Public officials certainly have the right to critique the judiciary’s work, but they should be wary that inflammatory statements regarding judges could provoke dangerous reactions from others.”
Recently, the Trump administration has escalated scrutiny of federal judges, routinely labeling some of their decisions unconstitutional and questioning the courts’ authority for judicial review.
“You cannot have a low-level district court judge issuing an injunction that undermines the executive authority of the President,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt remarked last week in response to rulings that prevented the termination of thousands of federal employees.
