A group of more than 150 retired state and federal judges sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday condemning the Trump administration’s attacks on the judiciary, saying it’s clear the president believes he can “threaten and intimidate” judges into submitting to his agenda.
The letter focuses largely on the recent courthouse arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, whom FBI Director Kash Patel accused of helping an undocumented immigrant “evade arrest” and posted a photo of her perp walk on social media.
“The circumstances of Judge Dugan’s arrest make it clear that it was nothing but an effort to threaten and intimidate the state and federal judiciaries into submitting to the Administration, instead of interpreting the Constitution and laws of the United States,” the letter states, saying it was highly concerning that officers arrested Dugan in her own courtroom without any warning.
“There was no emergency whatsoever; the administration could have easily issued a summons for Judge Dugan to appear before a court, as they would have done in other white collar cases,” the letter said.
The judges also directly responded to Bondi’s recent Fox News appearance in which she called judges like Dugan “deranged.”
Calling out Trump’s actions ”does not make us ‘deranged.’ It’s what makes us Americans,” the former judges wrote.
In that same interview, Bondi hinted at the possibility of arresting more judges.
“We’re sending a very strong message today,” she said. “If you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are. If you are helping hide one, if you are giving a [gang] member guns, anyone who is illegally in this country, we will come after you, and we will prosecute you. We will find you.”
The letter was spearheaded by former federal judge Nancy Gertner and former assistant attorney general and federal judge J. Michael Luttig. Its signatories include judges appointed by members of both parties.
Trump, the former judges argue, will never be successful in his efforts.
“This attempt to intimidate the judiciary will fail,” they wrote. “The American people understand that the Constitution of the United States has made the nation’s judicial officers the guardians of the rule of law in our country, not the President.”
