Roberts issues rare statement rebuking Trump's call to impeach a federal judge

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement March 18 rebuking President Donald Trump's call to impeach a federal judge who ruled against his administration in a case concerning deportations.

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose," Roberts said in a statement.

Bradley Joondeph, a professor at Jesuit-run Santa Clara University School of Law whose areas of study include federalism and judicial behavior, told OSV News, "It is very unusual for a chief justice of the United States to push back publicly against another branch of government," outside of their judicial role, such as written opinions in cases.

"So it's a remarkable moment, I think, in our constitutional history, that the chief justice feels the need to do so," he said.

Robert’s statement came shortly after Trump called for impeaching U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who blocked the administration's plans to deport people allegedly associated with a Venezuelan gang under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Those plans were condemned by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., also known as CLINIC, who expressed concern about due process.

Trump sharply criticized Boasberg for the ruling, calling for his impeachment.

In a post on his social media website Truth Social, Trump wrote, “This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” adding, “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!

The statement marks perhaps Roberts' most public criticism of Trump since 2018, when he similarly defended federal judges who ruled against Trump from the president's ire.

"We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges," Roberts said in a statement at the time. "What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for."

Since the legal dispute over the Alien Enemies Act might ultimately end up before the Supreme Court, Roberts may have taken the opportunity to "get out in front of it to some degree" before he would review the case itself.

"This particular issue of impeaching federal judges based purely on disagreement with their rulings," may have been seen by Roberts as the right moment to weigh in without "threatening the impartiality of the court," Joondeph said.

"So reaching out proactively to comment on this impeachment question is a good vehicle for him to make a statement," he said.

Joondeph said he is "deeply concerned" about how the second Trump administration has thus far approached dealing with the judiciary.

"There's nothing analogous in my lifetime," he said.