OPINION:
Sen. Mitch McConnell has blasted a couple of federal judges who had announced plans to step from their leadership roles, but have since reversed course and decided to stay — all coincidentally after the election results poured in, giving Donald Trump the victory. He called them partisan. He called them politically weaponized. He called them hacks for the Democrat Party.
He’s absolutely right.
What other reason could U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn, a Barack Obama appointee serving on the Western District of North Carolina, and U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley, a Bill Clinton appointee sitting on the Southern District of Ohio, have for announcing, post election, a change-of-mind for assuming part-time and secondary statuses on their respective courts — except for the fact they don’t want to give Trump the opportunity to fill their slots with more conservative-minded judicial picks?
That’s not blind justice.
That’s not how judges are supposed to operate.
And even though Americans generally suspect that judges time their retirements to happenings in the political world, they’re not supposed to oh so blatantly and brashly behave in politically partisan manners. They’re supposed to go by a code of ethical standards that puts law above politics. They’re supposed to at least care about their reputations and roles to the point of hiding, or trying to hide, or squelching, or trying to squelch, their political leanings.
Yes, that goes for judges appointed by Republicans, as well as by Democrats.
“Looking to history,” McConnell said, from the Senate floor, Fox News reported, “only two judges have ever un-retired after a presidential election. One Democrat in 2004 and one Republican in 2009. But now, in just a matter of weeks, Democrats have already met that all-time record.”
Hmm. It’s as if they expected Harris to win.
As McConnell said from the Senate floor, The Hill reported: “They rolled the dice that a Democrat could replace then and that [a Democrat] won’t, they’re changing their plans to keep a Republican from doing it.”
And this: “It’s a brazen admission. And the incoming administration would be wise to explore all available recusal options with these judges, because it’s clear now that they have a political finger on the scale,” McConnell said.
And this: “This sort of partisan behavior undermines the integrity of the judiciary. It exposes bold Democratic blue where there should only be black robes,” he said.
And finally — this: “It’s hard to conclude this is anything other than open partisanship,” he said.
Are more to follow?
Law and order are the cornerstones of civil societies. If Americans can’t trust their court officials to maintain an unbiased approach when dealing with crimes and misdemeanors; with criminals and suspected criminals; with law-breakers and with the wrongly accused — the hope for a free and just nation goes up in smoke.
For years under Democrat-run operations, the judiciary has become a political tool to target conservatives, Republicans, MAGA types, Donald Trump, Trump supporters and all those deemed enemies of the left. From impeachment — impeachments, plural — to Russia collusion to pee tapes to raids on Mar-a-Lago; from the jailing of Steve Bannon to the jailing of Peter Navarro; from the IRS targeting of tea party types to the Department of Justice targeting of parents at public school meetings; from the deep state to the deep state media to the deep state courts — the American people have suffered enough of the partisan assaults.
The American people have suffered enough that they gave Trump, not Kamala Harris, a resounding mandate on Election Day, one that includes the cleaning of the court systems and a clearing of the anti-American biases that have infected and corrupted the judiciary. They have suffered enough that they voted for Trump, in part, to restore law and order to a system that has become lawless and disorderly; that has purposely been turned chaotic and unconstitutional by Democrats who want to use the judicial branch to crumble borders, normalize the deranged, i.e., transgenderism, censor dissensions, and usher in a state where legal citizens are cowed into silence because of a genuine fear of being tossed into jail. January 6 protesters, anyone? Pro-life protesters, anyone?
“Never before has a circuit judge un-retired after a presidential election,” McConnell said. “It’s literally unprecedented. And to create such a precedent would fly in the face of a rare bipartisan compromise on the disposition of these vacancies.”
It’s impossible to expect judges to be entirely impartial. They’re only human, after all. But it shouldn’t be too much to expect they at least give the appearance of trying to be impartial.
It’s what the American people deserve. Moreover, it’s what the American people voted for November 5.
These judges — the Democrat Party as a whole — should keep this in mind. Failing to do so will carry consequences from both the incoming administration, and the next round of voters.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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