Much as Trump tries to obstruct Jan. 6 inquiry, SCOTUS won’t play along

No matter what Republicans in Congress assert about this being a partisan witch hunt, they cannot count on the Supreme Court to help them obstruct justice.

January 21, 2022 - 4:03 PM

The Roberts Court, April 23, 2021: seated from left, Justices Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor; standing, Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Photo by Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

During his single presidential term, Donald Trump had a penchant for referring to federal judges and Supreme Court justices as though they ruled based on loyalty to the presidents who nominated them. Thus, Trump suggested, there were “Obama judges” and Trump judges. In 2018, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stern rebuke: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.” He added, “That independent judiciary is…

Already a subscriber?