Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa holds up a timer on a smartphone to show Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey how long he has been speaking during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, September 28, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
- Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said he had reservations about Chief Justice John Roberts' response to President Donald Trump's controversial remarks about a federal judge.
- In a tweet, Grassley, the Judiciary Committee Chairman, referenced Roberts' previous interactions with the executive branch during President Barack Obama's administration.
- Grassley suggested Roberts was curiously silent when Obama allegedly "rebuked" Justice Samuel Alito in 2010.
- It was unclear what Grassley was referring to.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said he had reservations about Chief Justice John Roberts' response to President Donald Trump's controversial characterization of a federal judge and the 9th District court, and suggested it was a hypocritical move based on Roberts' previous interactions with Trump's predecessor.
"Chief Justice Roberts rebuked Trump for a comment he made [about a] judge's decision on asylum," Grassley said in a tweet on Wednesday. "I don't recall the Chief attacking Obama when that Prez rebuked Alito during a State of the Union."
Grassley, the Judiciary Committee Chairman, appeared to be referencing a State of the Union address Obama gave in 2010, where Obama criticized the Supreme Court's 5-4 landmark decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The decision eased restrictions that blocked corporations and unions from funding political campaigns without limits.
But Obama did not single out Justice Samuel Alito during that State of the Union address. Obama was addressing the Supreme Court broadly, without mentioning any names.
"With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said at the time.
Alito had a visceral reaction to Obama's remarks during the speech, which were captured on video. He can be seen shaking his head and mouthing some words as Obama commented on the court's decision. Alito voted in favor of the ruling, and also joined concurring opinions from Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia.
As a former senator from Illinois in 2006, Obama was critical of Alito and grudgingly joined a Democrat-led filibuster against him.
"I think Judge Alito, in fact, is somebody who is contrary to core American values, not just liberal values," Obama said during an interview on ABC News in 2006, days before Alito's eventual confirmation to the Supreme Court.
"When you look at his decisions in particular during times of war, we need a court that is independent and is going to provide some check on the executive branch, and he has not shown himself willing to do that repeatedly," Obama added.
Reuters
President Donald Trump visits a neighborhood recently destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.
Grassley's quip comes amid a terse back-and-forth between Trump and the federal judiciary. On Monday, a federal judge from the Northern District of California stopped Trump's move to curb the number of asylum-seeking migrants who cross the US-Mexico border at ports of entry.
The following day, Trump described the judge as "an Obama judge" and railed against the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the appellate jurisdiction for the Northern District of California, by suggesting its rulings were inherently prejudiced.
"You go the 9th Circuit and it's a disgrace," Trump said on Tuesday. "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."
Roberts responded to Trump's comments on Wednesday by suggesting the federal judiciary remained free of political biases.
"We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges," Roberts said in a statement. "What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them."
Trump later shot back and reiterated his allegation that the 9th Circuit, the largest appeals court overseeing the western US, was prejudiced.
"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," Trump tweeted. "It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an 'independent judiciary,' but if it is why are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned."
"Please study the numbers, they are shocking," Trump added.
However, Democratic lawmakers praised Robert's statement and thanked him for taking a stand.
"Thanks Chief Justice Roberts for your powerful rebuke to Trump- refuting his demagogic denunciation of an 'Obama judge,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said on Twitter. :When the history of this dark era is written, our independent judiciary (& free press) will be the heroes. Our gratitude goes to them this Thanksgiving."