Chief Justice John Roberts dropped the facade that his Supreme Court is a nonpartisan body on Wednesday by directly attacking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for warning Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to leave women’s rights alone.
The high court is currently hearing an abortion rights case that could upend Roe v. Wade, thus rolling back women’s rights all the back to pre-1973. Of course, doing so would unleash the wrath of women voters going into the election in November. And that’s the warning Schumer sent to both of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court picks.
“You have unleashed a whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” he said.
Indeed, confidence in the Supreme Court is at an all-time low as the conservative majority continues to erode our rights and freedoms in favor of a corporate and right-wing agenda that undermines the Constitution.
But rather than heed Schumer’s warning, Roberts released a rare statement criticizing him.
“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said in a statement
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) March 4, 2020
It’s a stunning response from a man who supposedly cares about the image of the Court, especially since it’s also hypocritical because he ignored Trump’s attack on Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor late last month.
This double standard is clear proof that the Supreme Court isn’t going to pretend to be nonpartisan anymore. The conservative Justices are wholly owned by Trump and will continue doing the bidding of right-wing extremists. It has outlived its usefulness as an institution worthy of respect.
Schumer would go on to respond to Roberts via a spokesperson.
From Schumer spox:
“For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes” https://t.co/Y8FBfYjHZU
— Lindsay Wise (@lindsaywise) March 4, 2020
Twitter users also called Roberts out.
John Roberts is leading a partisan Supreme Court majority put in place when Senate Republicans stole a seat on the court. GOP donors’ interests are 73-0 in 5/4 decisions with Roberts as chief justice.
Act like a partisan, get treated like one.https://t.co/tfwdXvS7Yg
— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) March 4, 2020
Can someone send this Trump tweet from just nine days ago to Chief Justice John Roberts? pic.twitter.com/EPi92jcS4V
— Charlotte Clymer ?️? (@cmclymer) March 4, 2020
This is the same John Roberts who stayed quiet when Trump recently excoriated two different Justices in much harsher language. (They were female and liberal.) I’ll add long voting lines, a direct result of his 2013 decision, don’t seem to bother him much. https://t.co/DCqXH0VyDn
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) March 4, 2020
Today, John Roberts lashed out at Sen. Schumer (D) for criticizing Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
John Roberts was silent when Trump (R):
✔️Said Judge Curiel couldn’t hear a case because “he’s a Mexican”
✔️Called Judge Robart a “so-called judge”
✔️Attacked Sonia Sotomayor
✔️Attacked RBG— Demand Justice (@WeDemandJustice) March 4, 2020
John Roberts is a coward and a fraud.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) March 4, 2020
So Chief Justice John Roberts couldn’t bring himself to say a peep after @senatemajldr ran roughshod over the Constitution by blocking SCOTUS pick Merrick Garland or ANY of @realDonaldTrump’s crimes & corruption, but Schumer elicits a rebuke?
John Roberts is a bad faith FRAUD. https://t.co/1qxTtV5Eej
— Fernand R. Amandi (@AmandiOnAir) March 5, 2020
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, just made the Supreme Court a political court by entering into partisan political dialogue and debate with a sitting US senitor. He should be rebuked for his rebuke. He made a mockery of the court.https://t.co/1wO6ShiIgI
— John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) March 5, 2020
Roberts is no longer trustworthy to do his job, assuming he was ever trustworthy at all. He no longer deserves to wear the robes and he should retire in disgrace if he is not going to call out Trump’s attacks on liberal Justices the way he is criticizing Schumer. The conservative majority on the high court has been illegitimate from the day Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to confirm Merrick Garland in 2016. And it should continue to be treated that way.
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