#Republican-appointed judges raise alarm over #Trump attacks on #law
Federal DC Judge #ReggieWalton warned Trump’s attacks on #HushMoney trial judge & others could lead to #violence.
The Republican-appointed judge denounced Trump’s attacks against the judge presiding over his hush money trial in Manhattan & his daughter, calling them assaults on the #RuleOfLaw that could lead to violence & #tyranny.
“When judges are threatened, & particularly when their family is threatened, it’s something that’s wrong & should not happen,” US Dist Judge #ReggieWalton, told CNN in an interview Thurs. He added, “It is very troubling because I think it is an attack on the rule of law.”
The unusual media stmnt by a sitting fed judge came after #Trump blasted NY SupCourt Justice #Merchan & his daughter, Loren,criticizing her affiliation w/a digital marketing co that works w/Dem candidates & erroneously attributing to her a socialmedia post showing Trump behind bars. #ReggieWalton, who was appointed by #Republican presidents RonaldReagan & GeorgeW.Bush to courts in 1981 & 1991,said “any reasonable, thinking person”would appreciate the impact of Trump’s rhetoric on some followers…
Since late 2020, as #Trump began escalating his #attacks on the #judiciary, serious investigated #threats against fed #judges have more than doubled, from 224 in 2021 to 457 in 2023, acc/to the US Marshals Service. Fed judges in DC say ≥½ of trial judges handling cases arising from the #Jan6, attack on the Capitol have received a surge in threats & #harassment, incl’g #DeathThreats to their homes, w/Trump’s #ElectionObstruction trial judge, Tanya #Chutkan, placed under 24-hr protection.
“The #RuleOfLaw can only be maintained if we have #independent#judicial officers who are able to do their job & ensure that the #laws are in fact enforced & that the laws are applied equally to everybody who appears in our courthouse,” #ReggieWalton told CNN. He was prompted to speak out of concern for the “future of our country & the future of #democracy in our country,” Walton said, “because if we don’t have a viable court system that’s able to function efficiently, then we have #tyranny.”
@Nonilex This is something Justice Roberts should be shouting from the rooftops and taking the lead. One senior judge on one cable network is a start, but won't get the same publicity or respect.
Sadly, it's far from the first time Roberts has failed in his moral duty to the nation.
As an outside observer (living South of the equator) of the US I have the impression that the extremely unequal distribution of socially produced wealth has led to so-called democratic institutions being so undermined by corruption that they are collapsing before our eyes.
In this sense, it would be a miracle if Trump was NOT elected.
Judge #ReggieWalton’s remarks came as several federal judges in DC appointed by #Republican presidents have spoken w/increasing urgency about #Trump’s disregard for historical #facts & alarmed at his increasingly #graphic & at times #violent description of defendants prosecuted in the #Jan6 riot as “political prisoners” & “hostages” who did nothing wrong.
@Nonilex
Is a personal attack more grave than an organized attack on an entire country’s electoral process which is part of the orderly transition of power, one wonders?
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