Roberts rejects Trump's call for impeaching judge who ruled against his deportation plans
Source: AP
Updated 12:10 PM EDT, March 18, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary display of conflict between the executive and judiciary branches, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching federal judges shortly after President Donald Trump demanded the removal of a judge who ruled against his deportation plans.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a rare statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
In a Tuesday morning social media post, Trump described U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg as an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg recently issued an order blocking deportation flights under wartime authorities from an 18th century law that Trump invoked to carry out his plans.
“HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-federal-judges-impeachment-29da1153a9f82106748098a6606fec39
The COLLAPSE of the rule of law in the United States is on YOU Roberts.

JohnSJ
(98,798 posts)probably call for robert's impeachment.
NotHardly
(2,092 posts)Let's see how that sh*t plays out.
Bengus81
(8,854 posts)It's called fighting back............
bucolic_frolic
(50,594 posts)Can't believe my lyin' eyes and ears. Lord just never tires of manufacturing irony.
cyclonefence
(5,062 posts)this is a *good* thing--Roberts is upholding the rule of law. Isn't he? Did I misread this?
Ocelot II
(124,950 posts)And now I hope he does a little soul-searching about the mess he helped create.
lastlib
(25,986 posts)Maybe he'll search his mind--it's a much briefer exercise.
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)demanding that he *say something*.
Roberts will now be targeted and attacked by the MAGat mobs that he helped to enable with that bullshit "immunity" ruling.
Any criminal conduct that gets carried out by 45 and his cabal can (and probably will) be "pardoned" and there's nothing that Roberts can do about it.
Jay25
(422 posts)He realizes that even the Supreme Court will become obsolete under this creature in human form.
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)The SCOTUS would basically be persona non grata.
tavernier
(13,715 posts)“You don’t have the cards. Remember? You gave them all to me.”
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)DENVERPOPS
(12,370 posts)And they all are still trying to prevent and delay displaying what they are really up to, until they make more headway and ready for their last hurrah, slam dunk...........which in my opinion is the Trashing of the Stock Market and Investments, wiping out everyone's retirements and 401K investments........
(Did you note Warren Buffet quietly going to cash with his selling of several of his largest investments????? It appears that he, and many other UBER wealthy are slowly retracting, going to bonds, hoping no one notices, rather them doing it all at once......
You are THE most awesome of anyone on DU......always read your stuff first........Some days you are all I read !!!!
Nice Job BRDS
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)and Berkshire Hathaway hoarding cash. Others like the Gates have been giving theirs away.
A lot of what Musk has is "on paper" wealth but not necessarily "real wealth". He is also dropping babies all around and it's only a matter of time before the baby-mamas start demanding their "share".
And thanks for the compliment!
So what's he gonna do about it when Trump says "Yeah fuck you, I'm doing what I want"
33taw
(3,171 posts)put them in jail until he complies.
turbinetree
(26,143 posts)or did you finally look in the mirror...............
William Seger
(11,651 posts)That doesn't make it legal, asshole — the whole reason for the Bill of Rights is to protect individual rights, such as due process, against majoritarianism.
The Wizard
(13,171 posts)was declared invalid in the Nuremberg war crimes trials. If it walks like a Nazi, talks like a Nazi and acts like a Nazi, it's a (fill in the blank).
William769
(58,830 posts)Harker
(16,267 posts)It's astounding.
Justice matters.
(8,390 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(163,818 posts)lastlib
(25,986 posts)you don't suppose that immunity decision you gave the Crime Minister last year has somethin' to do with all this, do ya? Cuz if you hadn't given him that little gift, we wouldn't be having THIS conversation now, would we?
generalbetrayus
(939 posts)believe that Orange Julius Caesar would be reelected. (I like your "Crime Minister" )
DENVERPOPS
(12,370 posts)they all have shown time and time again where their true hearts are.................
I am waiting for the Republican House members, the Republican Senators, and the Republican US Supreme Court to suddenly realize what is going on.......LOL
Just as how Trump is kicking all his voters to the curb and under the bus because they have outgrown their usefulness, the House and Senate Repubs and the USSC will soon wake up and realize that a Corporation driven TYRANNY, doesn't need a Legislative or Judicial Branch much longer.
PortTack
(35,640 posts)maxsolomon
(36,573 posts)I think the GOP Congress SHOULD impeach Boasberg. Go ahead and take the mask off.
Joinfortmill
(18,128 posts)et tu
(2,201 posts)branded with trump mental disorder syndrome
and be locked up- keys we dont need no stinking keys
you're here until ....
orangecrush
(24,772 posts)Wednesdays
(20,514 posts)Until they say no.
orangecrush
(24,772 posts)et tu
(2,201 posts)a law to do that
orangecrush
(24,772 posts)For soliciting a 16 yo for sex
LetMyPeopleVote
(163,818 posts)
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)he can just ignore him and have his foaming-at-the-mouth mobs start threatening him.
The only thing that may salvage the situation is perhaps his daughter.
Mr.WeRP
(813 posts)That once SCOTUS gets the case, they will rule in Trump’s favor and all will be well. No need to waste time impeaching judges, as they are irrelevant. It’s not a rebuke, it is consoling.
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)Not sure if Roberts is there yet. But we know Thomas and Alito have been well taken care of.
Martin68
(25,851 posts)and decided to stick to the Constitution for a change. Trump can get on anyone's nerves after a while.
Blue Owl
(56,371 posts)
boonecreek
(983 posts)First time a 34 times convicted felon has been elected President.
The Wizard
(13,171 posts)purports That trump would have been indicted and found guilty based on the evidence. Had Garland done his job, assuming his family wasn't threatened, Trump could very well be making license plates.
BOSSHOG
(42,537 posts)Than voting for you does not a mandate make
A Supreme Court Justice doesn’t have to win anything
Check back with us when it’s time to harvest the crops on your brilliant immigrant move
generalbetrayus
(939 posts)He is already telling the justice system that he doesn't give a Muskrat's ass if it rules against him. At some point this disdain will make it all the way up to the level of the Supreme Court. You can't tell me that the SC justices don't have huge egos. They should all, well, maybe except for long-term toadies like Thomas and Alito, have steam coming out of their ears over the current situation. They should be worried about becoming powerless fools very quickly under this administration.
GoreWon2000
(1,461 posts)dawgdan
(19 posts)Roberts seems to have bigger ones then I thought he did.......
Mr. Evil
(3,301 posts)Add these to the 100 mile long list of things TSF actually is.
wolfie001
(5,057 posts)
BattleRow
(1,588 posts)"Thank you,thank you,I'll never forget,"said Trump.
May take on a whole new meaning now.
Marcuse
(8,442 posts)Scalded Nun
(1,404 posts)I will be unhappy.
Well, Mr. Chief Justice...You already told him that he can fuck with anything with impunity. That means he can fuck with you as well.
Like telling a 5-year old not to play with matches, but if he does, nothing bad will happen to him. Maybe to others, but not to him.
Your turn in the barrel (or under the bus...whichever) is on its way.
SunSeeker
(55,878 posts)
Justice matters.
(8,390 posts)I wonder what he's doing these days. Hiding in a bunker somewhere? Scared, and with regrets of not doing something a lot faster than he did but surely could have done?
Same for turtleface
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)Seriously:?
If the cases had magically been through several levels of trial, WITHOUT any delays for bogus "Executive Privilege" claims and "total immunity", between January 6, 2021 and January 7, 2021 and landed on Roberts desk on January 8, 2021, he would have somehow ruled any differently than what he did with granting "qualified immunity"?
Justice matters.
(8,390 posts)For the History writers.
Not on the conservative feet-dragging protege of some here.
Brazil took care of their insurrectionists (not even classified-documents thief's) very, very quickly... but no, not the Land of the Free... The richest country in History...
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)People need to put the blame where it belongs.
Judge Chutkan was ready go before she got "the Roberts 'immunity' homework assignment" and that was the end of that.
I saw the same crap on DU done against Eric Holder and trashing him for not frog-marching Shrub and Darth and the BFEE.
Justice matters.
(8,390 posts)He waited until Hutchinson's testimony in front of the J6 committee more than a full year later.
Now why did he not direct DOJ investigators to bring her in and all the people present in the White House to question them all in May 2021? Come on. There was a clear conspiracy to overthrow the result of the election VIOLENTLY but no... he waited for OTHERS to do HIS JOB. Had he done it competently, Judge Chutkan would have had the case against the criminal mob boss in her court at least a full year (if not more) before it did.
That's the harsh truth Garland defenders refuse to acknowledge, trying to change the subject as much as they can.
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)One of them -
By Glenn Thrush and Adam Goldman
Reporting from Washington
Published March 22, 2024 Updated March 27, 2024
After being sworn in as attorney general in March 2021, Merrick B. Garland gathered his closest aides to discuss a topic too sensitive to broach in bigger groups: the possibility that evidence from the far-ranging Jan. 6 investigation could quickly lead to former President Donald J. Trump and his inner circle. At the time, some in the Justice Department were pushing for the chance to look at ties between pro-Trump rioters who assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, his allies who had camped out at the Willard Hotel, and possibly Mr. Trump himself.
Mr. Garland said he would place no restrictions on their work, even if the “evidence leads to Trump,” according to people with knowledge of several conversations held over his first months in office. “Follow the connective tissue upward,” said Mr. Garland, adding a directive that would eventually lead to a dead end: “Follow the money.” With that, he set the course of a determined and methodical, if at times dysfunctional and maddeningly slow, investigation that would yield the indictment of Mr. Trump on four counts of election interference in August 2023.
(snip)
People around Mr. Garland, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Justice Department affairs, say there would be no case against Mr. Trump had Mr. Garland not acted decisively. And any perception that the department had made Mr. Trump a target from the outset, without exploring other avenues, would have doomed the investigation. “Don’t confuse thoughtful with unduly cautious,” said a former deputy attorney general, Jamie S. Gorelick, who sent Mr. Garland, then her top aide, to oversee the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. “He was fearless. You could see it then, and you could see it when he authorized the search at Mar-a-Lago.”
Mr. Garland’s allies point to how, by the summer of 2021, the attorney general and his powerful deputy, Lisa O. Monaco, were so frustrated with the pace of the work that they created a team to investigate Trump allies who gathered at the Willard Hotel ahead of Jan. 6 — John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Rudolph W. Giuliani and Roger J. Stone Jr. — and possible connections to the Trump White House, according to former officials. That team would lay the groundwork for the investigation that Mr. Smith would take over as special counsel a year and a half later. But a host of factors, some in Mr. Garland’s control, others not, slowed things down.
(snip)
Much more... https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/trump-jan-6-merrick-garland.html
No paywall (gift link)
And there continues to be complete ignorance on how DOJ operates and their direct connection as "the law firm for the regulatory agencies" (using local U.S. Attorneys). This concept seems to be alien and people refuse to accept this concept when told about it.
You also have the issue of people not understanding that per the Constitution, STATES are "in charge of elections". So when 45 violated state laws, the states sat there twiddling their thumbs waiting on the federal government to "do something" when there was no direct authority for them to do such. They eventually figured it out and finally started investigating the issue of "fake electors". THAT IS WHY CONGRESS PASSED A LAW - AFTER THE FACT - TO DEAL WITH THE ELECTORS ISSUE -
S.4573 - Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022
You also can't selectively eliminate the judiciary interventions when "the defendant" used it to delay. During the multiple grand jury periods, you had people like Mark Meadows insisting on withholding info based on "Executive Privilege" and there were whole periods of time when that argument had to go through the lower, appellate, and finally to the SCOTUS to resolve before moving on.
Judge says several Trump aides, including former chief of staff, must testify to Jan. 6 grand jury
Appeals court rejects Trump's motion to block Mark Meadows, former aides from testifying in special counsel probe
I also point out a scenario of what DUers have demanded - instant investigations - and that happened with the RICO case that Fulton County, GA D.A. Fani Willis did. HER timeline -
(snip)
Feb. 10, 2021
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis notifies Kemp that her office has launched an investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
The letter asked state officials to preserve any documents potentially related to the 2020 general election, "with particular care given to set aside and preserve those that may be evidence of attempts to influence the actions of persons who were administering" it, which would include Trump's phone call with Raffensperger.
Jan. 20, 2022
Willis requests to seat a special grand jury in her probe, according to a letter obtained by ABC News. In the letter to Fulton County Chief Judge Christopher Brasher, Willis wrote that the move is needed because "a significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony."
(snip)
July 11, 2023
Based on the findings of the special grand jury, Willis empanels a new grand jury to weight possible election-related charges against Trump.
(snip)
And one month after the above, on Aug. 15, 2023, Willis announced her indictments - Trump and 18 allies charged in Georgia election meddling as former president faces 4th criminal case
QUESTION
Today is March 19, 2025. Where is her case and why isn't 45 in state prison in Georgia?

ANSWER
The JUDGE tossed out some more charges (and now the whole thing is bogged down investigating HER instead of 45) - Judge tosses more counts against Trump and others in Georgia election case, 32 counts remain
So what happened?

Point being, the JUDICIARY was holding up ALL of the criminal cases - both federal and state (whether for trial or for sentencing). The only one that finally came to some sort of "conclusion" was the NY state one where the "sentencing" was basically non-existent (although the felonies remain).
I STILL see DUers insist that somehow, "charges were never brought", completely clueless about the fact that INDICTMENTS ARE CHARGES.
And don't try to "blend" what is a SEPARATION OF POWERS - Executive Branch vs Legislative Branch. That is another failure of the arguments. The way this system of a Constitutional Republic is *supposed to work* is that there are "checks and balances" and just because one party might have "control" over the Executive and Legislative, doesn't mean that they are always going to be "lock step" (although obviously 45 has decided that not only would he force such, but then he would decide to completely negate the Legislative Branch's role and go it alone).
This is apparently what DU wants Democrats to do.
Justice matters.
(8,390 posts)a two-tier system:
- one for the haves (resulting in justice denied)
- one for the have-nots (where stealing one classified document leads to five years in jail in a speed trial)
Bravo... (not)
As an aside, I hope Garland has fled the country already (for his own good) to an undisclosed location...
BumRushDaShow
(153,435 posts)The wealthy can get the "best due process that money can buy".
Whenever info is posted about those reform efforts, the OPs get yawns.
But that has nothing to do with the revolving door of Presidential appointees that fill the various Department head/Cabinet slots.
Few on DU will talk about Bill Barr or Jeff Sessions, both of whom were 45's AGs during his first term. In fact, nothing at all is mentioned about Jeff Rosen who was "Acting AG" during the January 6 insurrection, and little is even mentioned about Pam Bondi today.
But they had a lot to say about Eric Holder who was AG under Obama for most of his 2 terms and probably would have gotten started on Loretta Lynch except that she was only serving out the remainder of Holder's term after he left, and before 45 got in.
I wonder why?
I worked for a HHS agency for over 30 years and served under 6 Presidents and 8 Secretaries of HHS. Federal employees don't fixate on and obsess over these figureheads. They are "here today, gone tomorrow... NEXT!"
GoreWon2000
(1,461 posts)Never forget that it was the Rehnquist 5 who started this nightmare in 2000 which created the Roberts court.
Marthe48
(20,704 posts)that the (formerly) scotus is raising it's biased fists against the fascists? Finally?
GoreWon2000
(1,461 posts)when they threw out the legal votes of millions of Americans in order to install their preferred, pro dictatorship candidate W.
Marthe48
(20,704 posts)I've felt sick to my stomach every time I think of the travesty.
GoreWon2000
(1,461 posts)LymphocyteLover
(8,059 posts)NNadir
(35,900 posts)He managed to be an even worse Chief Justice than Roger Taney, no small feat.
Taney never sought to suspend the Constitution. In fact Taney defended the Constitution, albeit it's worst features as they existed in his time.
Robert's has held the Constitution in open contempt. History, should the discipline continue to exist, will hold him in contempt.
Dave Bowman
(5,225 posts)Wednesdays
(20,514 posts)Kinda like a broken clock.
90-percent
(6,940 posts)Should assign his minion big balls to vaporize Robert's job.
-90% jimmy
LetMyPeopleVote
(163,818 posts)The White House has been engaged in an intense fight with the judiciary. By calling for a judge’s impeachment, Trump just took the fight to a new level.
Trump, this week: A judge I don't like is a "Radical Left Lunatic" who "should be IMPEACHED!!!"
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-crosses-new-line-calls-judges-impeachment-escalating-fight-judic-rcna196882
Four days later, Politico reported on the president calling for a different federal district court judge’s impeachment.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for the impeachment of the federal judge who ordered a two-week halt to his efforts to remove Venezuelan migrants using extraordinary war powers that haven’t been invoked for decades. Trump’s call to remove U.S. District Judge James Boasberg — the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, D.C. — is the first time since taking office for his second term that he’s asked Congress to seek a judge’s removal, joining increasingly pointed calls by his top donor and adviser Elon Musk and a segment of his MAGA base.
Apparently furious about Boasberg’s handling of the Alien Enemies Act litigation, the president published an especially enraged item to his social media platform, referring to the federal district court judge as a “Radical Left Lunatic,” a “troublemaker” and an “agitator.” After a series of all-caps claims about the fact that the jurist isn’t an elected official — in this country, federal judges aren’t chosen by voters — Trump concluded, “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”.....
This campaign, however, has been largely relegated to the fringe. There are over 250 GOP lawmakers across the House and the Senate, and the total number of Republicans talking about impeaching federal judges is, as a quantitative matter, fairly small. Few, if any, credible observers have predicted that the impeachment push would ever be taken seriously on Capitol Hill.
But it’s against this backdrop that the sitting Republican president has decided to throw his weight behind an impeachment effort — not because Boasberg committed high crimes or abused his office, but because the judge is handling an important case in a way Trump doesn’t like.
The White House has been engaged in an intensifying fight with the judicial branch, and there’s been growing speculation about whether the administration might consider defying court rulings that the president doesn’t like. With his impeachment call, Trump just took that fight to a new level.