Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg participate in an annual Women's History Month reception in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Allison Shelley/Getty Images)
Feb 24, 2020
President Donald Trump Monday night called on Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg recuse themselves from any cases involving the president, a demand critics denounced as an "outrageous" attack on the nation's highest legal body.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome."
--Kristen Clarke, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Trump's demand came in response to Sotomayor's scathing dissent in the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to allow the president's so-called "wealth test" for immigrants--also known as the public charge rule--to take effect in Illinois. Sotomayor accused the court's five conservative justices of favoring one litigant over all others--the Trump administration--in their ruling.
"This is a terrible thing to say," Trump tweeted of Sotomayor's dissent. "Trying to 'shame' some into voting her way? She never criticized Justice Ginsburg when she called me a 'faker.'"
"Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related, matters!" the president added. "While 'elections have consequences,' I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court!"
Trump doubled down on his demand during a press conference in India Tuesday morning, calling Sotomayor's dissent "innappropriate" and accusing Ginsburg of going "wild" against him in the 2016 presidential election.
\u201cTrump, during news conference in India, explains that he thinks Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should recuse herself from cases involving him because she didn't support him in 2016. He also calls on Justice Sotomayor to recuse herself for an unspecified "inappropriate" statement.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1582636297
"This is outrageous," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, wrote in response to Trump's tweets.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome," added Clarke. "The slight to Ginsburg and call for recusal are absurd."
Brian Fallon, executive director of court reform group Demand Justice, tweeted that "Justice Sotomayor's dissent is a call to action, and now Trump is attacking her for speaking the truth."
Fallon said Demand Justice and other progressive groups are planning to protest conservative justices' "pro-Trump bias" at the Supreme Court next week.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump Monday night called on Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg recuse themselves from any cases involving the president, a demand critics denounced as an "outrageous" attack on the nation's highest legal body.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome."
--Kristen Clarke, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Trump's demand came in response to Sotomayor's scathing dissent in the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to allow the president's so-called "wealth test" for immigrants--also known as the public charge rule--to take effect in Illinois. Sotomayor accused the court's five conservative justices of favoring one litigant over all others--the Trump administration--in their ruling.
"This is a terrible thing to say," Trump tweeted of Sotomayor's dissent. "Trying to 'shame' some into voting her way? She never criticized Justice Ginsburg when she called me a 'faker.'"
"Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related, matters!" the president added. "While 'elections have consequences,' I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court!"
Trump doubled down on his demand during a press conference in India Tuesday morning, calling Sotomayor's dissent "innappropriate" and accusing Ginsburg of going "wild" against him in the 2016 presidential election.
\u201cTrump, during news conference in India, explains that he thinks Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should recuse herself from cases involving him because she didn't support him in 2016. He also calls on Justice Sotomayor to recuse herself for an unspecified "inappropriate" statement.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1582636297
"This is outrageous," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, wrote in response to Trump's tweets.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome," added Clarke. "The slight to Ginsburg and call for recusal are absurd."
Brian Fallon, executive director of court reform group Demand Justice, tweeted that "Justice Sotomayor's dissent is a call to action, and now Trump is attacking her for speaking the truth."
Fallon said Demand Justice and other progressive groups are planning to protest conservative justices' "pro-Trump bias" at the Supreme Court next week.
President Donald Trump Monday night called on Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg recuse themselves from any cases involving the president, a demand critics denounced as an "outrageous" attack on the nation's highest legal body.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome."
--Kristen Clarke, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Trump's demand came in response to Sotomayor's scathing dissent in the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to allow the president's so-called "wealth test" for immigrants--also known as the public charge rule--to take effect in Illinois. Sotomayor accused the court's five conservative justices of favoring one litigant over all others--the Trump administration--in their ruling.
"This is a terrible thing to say," Trump tweeted of Sotomayor's dissent. "Trying to 'shame' some into voting her way? She never criticized Justice Ginsburg when she called me a 'faker.'"
"Both should recuse themselves on all Trump, or Trump related, matters!" the president added. "While 'elections have consequences,' I only ask for fairness, especially when it comes to decisions made by the United States Supreme Court!"
Trump doubled down on his demand during a press conference in India Tuesday morning, calling Sotomayor's dissent "innappropriate" and accusing Ginsburg of going "wild" against him in the 2016 presidential election.
\u201cTrump, during news conference in India, explains that he thinks Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should recuse herself from cases involving him because she didn't support him in 2016. He also calls on Justice Sotomayor to recuse herself for an unspecified "inappropriate" statement.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1582636297
"This is outrageous," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, wrote in response to Trump's tweets.
"Justice Sotomayor issued a reasoned dissent noting a pattern among the justices of allowing the Trump administration to ignore the appellate courts and skip to the SCOTUS to secure their desired outcome," added Clarke. "The slight to Ginsburg and call for recusal are absurd."
Brian Fallon, executive director of court reform group Demand Justice, tweeted that "Justice Sotomayor's dissent is a call to action, and now Trump is attacking her for speaking the truth."
Fallon said Demand Justice and other progressive groups are planning to protest conservative justices' "pro-Trump bias" at the Supreme Court next week.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.