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Raw Story: 'There's a connection there': Analyst says this is how Trump 'triggered' John Roberts
Raw Story - 'There's a connection there': Analyst says this is how Trump 'triggered' John Roberts
Brad Reed
March 19, 2025 7:41AM ET
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday issued a rare public rebuke of President Donald Trump after he called for the impeachment of a judge who had sharply questioned his administration's decision to employ the Alien Enemies Act to engage in mass deportations.
CNN Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic on Wednesday explained why the chief justice decided to go public with his concerns about Trump's efforts to intimidate the judiciary.
"It's significant in the moment for him and for the judiciary most of all," she said. "Several lower court judges, who right now are the front lines of these battles over the Trump litigation, have been feeling a lot of pressure, and they've been getting threats."
She noted that the only other times that Roberts had made a similar statement in broad defense of the judiciary came back in 2018 when he criticized Trump's attacks on judges appointed by former President Barack Obama.
"Interestingly, there's a connection between the two," she said. "He was responding to Donald Trump deriding jurists who had ruled against him in an asylum case as, quote, 'an Obama judge.' And did you notice the thing on Truth Social yesterday that first set off the chief? Also, Donald Trump was referring to James Boasberg, the judge handling the deportation case as an 'Obama judge.' So, you know, it's a little bit of a trigger there."
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Brad Reed
March 19, 2025 7:41AM ET
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday issued a rare public rebuke of President Donald Trump after he called for the impeachment of a judge who had sharply questioned his administration's decision to employ the Alien Enemies Act to engage in mass deportations.
CNN Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic on Wednesday explained why the chief justice decided to go public with his concerns about Trump's efforts to intimidate the judiciary.
"It's significant in the moment for him and for the judiciary most of all," she said. "Several lower court judges, who right now are the front lines of these battles over the Trump litigation, have been feeling a lot of pressure, and they've been getting threats."
She noted that the only other times that Roberts had made a similar statement in broad defense of the judiciary came back in 2018 when he criticized Trump's attacks on judges appointed by former President Barack Obama.
"Interestingly, there's a connection between the two," she said. "He was responding to Donald Trump deriding jurists who had ruled against him in an asylum case as, quote, 'an Obama judge.' And did you notice the thing on Truth Social yesterday that first set off the chief? Also, Donald Trump was referring to James Boasberg, the judge handling the deportation case as an 'Obama judge.' So, you know, it's a little bit of a trigger there."
/snip/
/snip