One of the bad things about bad behavior by politicians (particularly by Donald Trump, because he’s president, but by others as well) is that it not only can encourage bad behavior by politicians of all ideological stripes but also can be cited to justify it.
All of this is sadly illustrated by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s disturbing attacks against members of the Supreme Court.
Schumer’s words were unmistakably intimidating: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch.” “I want to tell you, Kavanaugh.” “You will pay the price.” “You won’t know what hit you if …” The meaning is clear: If you don’t do as we say, something bad will happen to you.
To his credit, Schumer walked back his intemperate remarks. “I shouldn’t have used the words I did,” he said on the Senate floor Thursday. That’s a start, but he made no mention of the troubling statement his spokesman issued Wednesday that attacked Chief Justice Roberts.
Schumer criticized Roberts for “remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg last week.”
But as as bad as Trump’s attack last week was (see my take on it here), it was threatening. And because it involved a claim that justices should recuse, it involved something Roberts couldn’t publicly comment about.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
And Roberts *has* previously criticized Trump for attacking the judiciary.
But judges, let alone the chief justice, shouldn’t have to verbally spar with politicians. It undermines the judiciary for judges to do that, or even to consider whether they have to.
But judges, let alone the chief justice, shouldn’t have to verbally spar with politicians. It undermines the judiciary for judges to do that, or even to consider whether they have to.
Public officials can criticize judicial decisions on the merits, for their reasoning, to their hearts’ content, but they mustn’t use threatening language. They shouldn’t use judges as political battering rams. And they shouldn’t baselessly attack a judge’s integrity.
Because if they do, they attack the rule of law, and, as a nation, we will all reap the whirlwind and pay the price.
Meant to say “It undermines the judiciary for judges to *have to* do that ....”.
