Roberts Dismisses Trump’s Appeal to Impeach Judge Who Ruled Against Him

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unprecedented showdown between the executive and judicial branches, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts dismissed suggestions for impeaching federal judges shortly after President Donald Trump called for the ousting of a judge who ruled against his deportation initiatives.

“For over two hundred years, it has been understood that impeachment is not an appropriate reaction to disagreement with a judicial ruling,” Roberts articulated in a rare statement. “The standard appellate review process exists for such cases.”

In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump labeled U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg as an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg recently issued an order halting deportation flights under wartime powers from an 18th-century law invoked by Trump for these plans.

“HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, WITH A STRONG MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE TOP REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” Trump declared on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I’m merely doing what the VOTERS wanted of me. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am compelled to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”

While Trump has frequently criticized judges, particularly as they restrain his attempts to expand presidential authority, his latest remarks have intensified his conflict with a judiciary that has been a significant constraint on his ambitious agenda. Impeachment is a rare measure typically reserved for serious ethical or criminal misconduct.

He has often targeted judges, especially as they curtail his efforts to broaden presidential power and impose his sweeping policy initiatives on the federal landscape. However, his call for impeachment marks a deepening rift between the judicial and executive branches.

The dynamic between Roberts and Trump has evolved over time. In 2018, Roberts criticized Trump’s comments regarding judicial independence when the president referred to a judge who rejected his migrant asylum policy as an “Obama judge.”

Roberts notably played a key role in last year’s now-dismissed criminal case against Trump, authoring the majority opinion that granted presidents extensive immunity from criminal prosecution, allowing him to evade a criminal trial prior to the upcoming 2024 election.

In the meantime, Roberts has continued to uphold judicial independence, cautioning against threats from all quarters and advocating for respect for even unpopular court decisions just as Trump commenced his second term.

Trump warmly acknowledged Roberts earlier this month, expressing gratitude and stating “I won’t forget” during the justices’ attendance at his address to a joint session of Congress. He later clarified he was thanking Roberts for his oath of office.

Trump’s latest remarks follow a court challenge to his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a law that has been employed only three times in U.S. history, all during congressionally declared wars. Trump declared the law was newly applicable due to what he asserted was an invasion by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. His administration is financially supporting El Salvador to imprison alleged gang members.

Boasberg, appointed by President Barack Obama, held a hearing on Monday to address what he termed “possible defiance” of his ruling after two deportation flights proceeded to El Salvador despite his verbal directive to return them to the U.S.

Lawyers from the Trump administration defended their conduct, asserting that Boasberg’s written order lacked specifics, while an attorney representing the American Civil Liberties Union remarked, “I think we’re approaching a constitutional crisis.”

The Justice Department is also seeking to have Boasberg removed from the case.

The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives, where Republicans maintain a narrow majority, to impeach a judge by a simple majority vote. However, akin to a presidential impeachment, any removal necessitates a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.

The president’s recent social media post aligns him more closely with allies like billionaire Elon Musk, who has made comparable demands.

“What we are witnessing is an effort by one branch of government to intimidate another branch from fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. It poses a direct threat to judicial independence,” stated Marin Levy, a Duke University School of Law professor specializing in federal courts, in an email.

Only a day prior, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt commented, “I have not heard the president mention impeaching judges.”

In U.S. history, just 15 judges have been impeached, of which only eight were removed from office.

The last judicial impeachment occurred in 2010 when G. Thomas Porteous Jr. of New Orleans was impeached on charges of accepting bribes and subsequently lying about it. He was convicted by the Senate and removed from office in December 2010.

Calls for judicial impeachment have surged as Trump’s comprehensive agenda encounters resistance in the courts, and at least two Congress members have indicated online they intend to introduce articles of impeachment against Boasberg. House Republicans have already leveled articles of impeachment against two other judges, Amir Ali and Paul Engelmayer, over their rulings in Trump-related cases.

Leavitt is among three administration officials facing a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP contends that these officials are retaliating against the news agency for editorial choices they disapprove of, while the White House asserts that the AP is not adhering to an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.