The Department of Justice is trying to make its recent spate of high-profile legal losses Congress’s problem. Per Bloomberg Law, DOJ leadership is openly soliciting examples of judges who had the audacity to rule against the government so those judges can be… reported to Congress for impeachment.
At a recent virtual meeting with leaders from the nation’s 93 U.S. attorney’s offices, DOJ officials asked prosecutors to provide “vivid instances” in which judges allegedly obstructed the government through adverse rulings. Yeah, DOJ leadership is really asking to get a rundown of the Department’s spiciest losses so they can dress them up as constitutional crises. The request reportedly came from Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, and it fits neatly into what Todd Blanche has openly described as a “war” on the federal judiciary.
A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the effort, explaining that the department is collecting “the most egregious examples of this obstruction” to help Congress “rein in judges violating their oaths.” According to DOJ, these violations include judges declining to sign off on criminal complaints or search warrants and judges “erroneously inserting themselves” into the U.S. attorney nomination process. All of which are examples of judges doing the damn job.
This is nothing but political theater. A show staged when the executive branch throws a tantrum because the judiciary refuses to act as a rubber stamp. The Constitution gave judges life tenure precisely so they wouldn’t have to worry about being hauled before Congress every time the government doesn’t like the answer it gets.
And even as theater, it’s bad theater. There are not 67 votes in the Senate to remove a federal judge, so no one’s job is seriously being threatened. The GOP might not even have the support to refer it to the Senate, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s recent enthusiasm for judicial impeachments. As Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Judiciary Committee panel with oversight of the judicial branch, admitted last week, “We don’t do one unless we think we truly have the elements necessary for the Senate to agree with us.”
What the DOJ is doing instead is laying the groundwork for intimidation, and following on to the Republican talking point about judges. The message to judges is unmistakable: rule against us too often, too loudly, or too inconveniently, and we’ll put your name on a list and see what Congress can do with it. That’s not how an independent judiciary functions, that’s how an administration tries to chill dissent from a co-equal branch of government.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post The Executive Branch Discovers Judicial Independence, Hates It appeared first on Above the Law.
The Department of Justice is trying to make its recent spate of high-profile legal losses Congress’s problem. Per Bloomberg Law, DOJ leadership is openly soliciting examples of judges who had the audacity to rule against the government so those judges can be… reported to Congress for impeachment.
At a recent virtual meeting with leaders from the nation’s 93 U.S. attorney’s offices, DOJ officials asked prosecutors to provide “vivid instances” in which judges allegedly obstructed the government through adverse rulings. Yeah, DOJ leadership is really asking to get a rundown of the Department’s spiciest losses so they can dress them up as constitutional crises. The request reportedly came from Associate Deputy Attorney General Aakash Singh, and it fits neatly into what Todd Blanche has openly described as a “war” on the federal judiciary.
A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the effort, explaining that the department is collecting “the most egregious examples of this obstruction” to help Congress “rein in judges violating their oaths.” According to DOJ, these violations include judges declining to sign off on criminal complaints or search warrants and judges “erroneously inserting themselves” into the U.S. attorney nomination process. All of which are examples of judges doing the damn job.
This is nothing but political theater. A show staged when the executive branch throws a tantrum because the judiciary refuses to act as a rubber stamp. The Constitution gave judges life tenure precisely so they wouldn’t have to worry about being hauled before Congress every time the government doesn’t like the answer it gets.
And even as theater, it’s bad theater. There are not 67 votes in the Senate to remove a federal judge, so no one’s job is seriously being threatened. The GOP might not even have the support to refer it to the Senate, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s recent enthusiasm for judicial impeachments. As Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Judiciary Committee panel with oversight of the judicial branch, admitted last week, “We don’t do one unless we think we truly have the elements necessary for the Senate to agree with us.”
What the DOJ is doing instead is laying the groundwork for intimidation, and following on to the Republican talking point about judges. The message to judges is unmistakable: rule against us too often, too loudly, or too inconveniently, and we’ll put your name on a list and see what Congress can do with it. That’s not how an independent judiciary functions, that’s how an administration tries to chill dissent from a co-equal branch of government.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post The Executive Branch Discovers Judicial Independence, Hates It appeared first on Above the Law.
