Chief Justice John Roberts. Photo / AP file
US President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts are engaged in an extraordinary public back-and-forth over Trump's description of a judge who ruled against his Administration as an "Obama judge".
Trump tweeted today: "Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have 'Obama judges,' and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country".
Roberts, in a statement to AP earlier, had pushed back against Trump's description, saying the country doesn't have "Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges".
Roberts said an "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for".
Trump says it would "be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an 'independent judiciary'," but says their rulings are "Very dangerous and unwise!"
It's the first time the Republican-appointed leader of the federal judiciary has offered even a hint of criticism of Trump, who has previously blasted federal judges who ruled against him.
Supreme Court justices, and the chief in particular, hardly ever issue statements on news events.
The Chief Justice is an aggressive defender of the judiciary and has frequently expressed concern about attacks on its impartiality, whether they come from the left or the right. He had made it clear last month that he felt the recent partisan battle over the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh had cast a shadow on the Supreme Court.
Liberals who follow the court and are often critical of Roberts applauded his latest statement.
"A remarkable rebuke of a President by a Chief Justice - offhand, I can't think of any historical analogy even close," Georgetown law professor Marty Lederman said in a tweet.
"But then again, every day Trump breaches norms never before breached. Major kudos to Chief Justice Roberts for doing the right thing."
-AP, Washington Post
The most stunning thing about this John Roberts statement is that he gave it to the AP, not during public remarks or in a law journal or any of the myriad ways he could have softened its edges. He wanted it out there and now, through the front door. https://t.co/MBzRxXFBhJ
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) November 21, 2018
There’s a core of what Roberts is saying that is correct and welcome.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) November 21, 2018
But!
If there were no such thing as “Trump judges,” why would McConnell, the GOP and the Federalist Society be so focused on and proud of getting as many Trump judges as humanly possible?
🤔
Roberts should stay out of politics and not patronize the public with his platitudes. Roberts didn't address Mr. Trump's complaint because he knows @POTUS is right: the Ninth Circuit is recklessly and notoriously leftist, and is the most reversed Appellate Court in the country. https://t.co/16IHg0cUMq
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) November 21, 2018
Oh please with this praise of Roberts for stating what shouldn't have to be said. All he's doing is providing cover for Trump's SCOTUS ringers to let him off the hook for the most treasonous acts in American history. Roberts' true legacy is millions of suppressed minority votes.
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) November 21, 2018
“The timing of this is really striking because President Trump is sending this tweet about John Roberts just shortly after John Roberts offered that really rare rebuke of what President Trump said yesterday” @kaitlancollins has more on Trump’s latest tweet https://t.co/XlBpZ7e0J6 pic.twitter.com/ZLcOOFyPg7
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) November 21, 2018