Staff Reports
President Trump and his allies are escalating attacks on judges who rule against his policies, with lawyer Mike Davis leading calls to impeach federal judges over immigration and criminal cases. Davis, founder of the Trump-aligned Article III Project, demanded imprisonment for Judge Juan Merchan after he presided over Trump’s criminal trial, calling him “third world Marxist trash” for allowing his daughter’s Democratic political work while on the bench.
The administration targeted Judge James Boasberg after he blocked Trump’s Venezuelan deportation flights authorized through controversial war powers. Davis promoted Boasberg’s impeachment on conservative media, claiming the judge overstepped by interfering with national security decisions. This follows Trump’s broader pattern of attacking jurists who check his authority, including those handling classified document and election interference cases.
Chief Justice John Roberts condemned these efforts as “intimidation” that erode constitutional safeguards, noting impeachment should address corruption – not policy disagreements. Meanwhile, the DOJ argues courts are exceeding their role by challenging Trump’s immigration moves, while refusing to comply with verbal court orders it deems non-binding.
Davis framed deportation resisters as aiding terrorists, declaring “we can’t let activist judges undermine border security”. This aligns with Trump’s narrative conflating immigration courts with terrorism threats, despite Boasberg having no terrorism-related cases. Critics warn such rhetoric risks normalizing political retaliation against judges through impeachment – a tool historically used just 15 times since 1789.
The showdown highlights a brewing constitutional crisis, with Trump testing limits on executive power while Davis and allies weaponize impeachment threats to pressure the judiciary. As Roberts warned, these tactics could dangerously undermine public trust in courts as nonpartisan institutions.
