By Pete Williams and Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual public statement, Chief
Justice John Roberts rebutted President Donald Trump's statement that a
ruling against the administration was made by "an Obama judge."
Asked
Wednesday by the Associated Press about the president's comment,
Roberts responded, "We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush
judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of
dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those
appearing before them."
He added on the day before Thanksgiving that an "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for."
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.
The
president responded several hours later in a string of tweets, claiming
there are, in fact, "Obama judges" and attacking the Ninth Circuit
court.
Trump made his initial comment on Tuesday about the "Obama judge" in
response to questions about Monday's ruling by Federal District Court
Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco that put a temporary hold on the
administration's plan for refusing to consider asylum applications from
immigrants who cross the border illegally.
"You go the 9th Circuit and it's a disgrace," Trump said.
"And I'm going to put in a major complaint because you cannot win — if
you're us — a case in the 9th Circuit and I think it's a disgrace. This
was an Obama judge. And I'll tell you what, it's not going to happen
like this anymore."
Tigar was nominated by President
Barack Obama, but Roberts has consistently pushed back against claims
that judges made decisions based on political considerations.
"I
will not criticize the political branches," he said in a speech in
October. "Our role is very clear. We are to interpret the Constitution
and laws of the United States and ensure that the political branches act
within them."
Even so, Roberts has had resisted responding directly to Trump's attacks on judges.
Trump
said it was a "so-called judge" who issued the first federal ruling
against his travel ban. During the 2016 presidential campaign, after
calling for a wall on the southern border, he said U.S. District Judge
Gonzalo Curiel might be biased against him in a trial over Trump
University because of the judge's Mexican heritage.
Trump's
latest remarks come as the Supreme Court is enmeshed in controversy
over his appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Several justices have
spoken out about judicial independence and the danger of having the
court viewed as a political institution that is divided between five
conservative Republicans and four liberal Democrats.
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