It is hard to think of many people less likely to be a “rogue activist” engaged in far-left attempts to subvert democracy on behalf of a clandestine deep state than John Roberts.
The 70-year-old Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court was appointed two decades ago by George W Bush. He is a Catholic and widely viewed as a conservative. He cast the key vote to uphold a controversial travel ban on several Muslim nations during Donald Trump’s first term as president, then helped block last year’s attempts at state level to bar Trump from the ballot over his role in the 6 January riot – thus enabling the tycoon’s return to the White House.
Yet now Roberts finds himself standing in the eye of a political storm as Trump and his slavishly loyal allies seek to demolish checks on their power, destroy their foes and dismantle key pillars of the remarkable democracy created by their country’s founding fathers more than two centuries ago.
This elegant system rests on three equal branches of government to check power and protect citizens: a Congress to pass laws, a president to enforce them and judges to interpret them. Presidents on all sides have respected court rulings, however much they disagreed or suffered political damage. But everything is different with Trump – and suddenly judges are the latest adversaries in his sights.
Trump’s team has moved fast to dislocate American democracy while cuddling up to dictators such as Vladimir Putin. His restoration to the White House led to a deluge of executive orders to silence critics, purge institutions, gut government and target vulnerable groups.
Some moves are petty, such as removing the security clearance of his predecessor Joe Biden. But many have profound consequences: arresting protesters without due process; using federal funds to stifle free speech in arts or universities; and last week’s stunt to send 238 Venezuelan migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador in defiance of a judge’s verbal order by relying on a law last used to intern Japanese prisoners in World War Two.
Footage of migrants in chains and having their heads shaved offered strong imagery to his fans. But this stokes fears after just two months of the second Trump stint in the White House – and amid talk from allies of a third term, despite constitutional restraints – that the world’s most influential democracy is sliding towards autocracy.
Congress is neutered with the defeated Democrats looking dazed and confused, while Republicans cower in fear of provoking the President’s ire – even when this destructive character who loves despots and tariffs defies their core beliefs. Much of traditional and social media, along with chunks of corporate America, has fallen into line under billionaire bosses. And the zone of public debate has been flooded with distractions and lies.
Much depends now on the nerve and strength of the judiciary, especially at the Supreme Court – and whether Trump dares defy its rulings, sparking constitutional crisis in this bitterly divided nation.
Both he and his vice-president JD Vance have ramped up their rhetoric, suggesting the President is above courts. Last week saw battle lines become clearer after the President posted on social media that a federal judge who blocked migrant deportations was “crooked” and “a radical left lunatic” who “should be IMPEACHED!!!” This led to a rare rebuke from Roberts. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” said the Chief Justice.
His statement did not mention its target. But for all its subtlety, it pitches the two most powerful US figures against each other. It was a warning shot in protection of the judiciary and constitution that drew fierce criticism from Trump’s allies – coming just as the Supreme Court braces for a flood of challenges to his actions.
Last week alone judges blocked an executive order barring transgender people from the military, the termination of $20bn green grants and the dismantling of USAID since it “likely” violated the constitution by undermining Congress.
When Trump was asked on television if he would defy a court order, he said he was confronting “very bad judges” and “at a certain point, you have to start looking at what do you do when you have a rogue judge”. Then he demanded Roberts “fix” the “Radical Left Judges” trying to usurp the presidency.
square PATRICK COCKBURN
Newsletter (£)
Trump and other 'populists' are showing themselves to be the fascists they always were
Read MoreHis repulsive sidekick Elon Musk – whose efforts to eviscerate government face numerous legal challenges – chimed in with claims of a “judicial coup”, backing calls for lawmakers to kick out “activists in robes” and spraying cash at Republicans supporting impeachment. Then House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged to limit “abuses of activist federal judges.”
Meanwhile the president – a convicted criminal – seeks to stifle law firms. He has targeted leading practices – including three that handled cases against him – over diversity policies and told Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, to pursue sanctions for professional misconduct against lawyers taking cases against the government.
One top firm, dominated by Democrats, rapidly capitulated after becoming the focus of a Trump executive order, striking a $40m deal to end diversity policies and give pro bono services to causes backed by the president. The boss of another firm told me they might face huge claims for damages from white former staff empowered to argue they suffered discrimination.
David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, believes Trump is stress testing the constitution with deliberately illegal actions, betting their system is too broken to stop him. So is he right? Certainly this president seems to be provocatively flouting the historic separation of powers – although his Congressional patsies have not yet impeached judges and the administration has not yet defied the Supreme Court.
So the stance of Roberts is crucial as the judiciary comes under a hail of fire from the hard-right. Ultimately, this conservative judge – who enabled some of Trump’s most controversial policies, helped sanction his return to power and swore him into office – might just turn out to be the man upon whom democracy in America depends.
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