© Eliot Clauss, April 2, 2025
Trump’s blatant and ever more direct attacks on the rule of law in the United States are the most delusional and dangerous threat to a core principle of American Democracy and the Americane conomy that has made the US the most stable and respected country in the world for more than 200 years.
Recently Trump lashed out at Judge Boasberg, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. for issuing an order the President did not like. The order questioned the Trump Administration’s use of a 1798 law and prohibited the Administration from deporting some alleged Venezuelan gang members without a hearing and due process. In response to the Judge doing what judges are supposed to do, Trump called this Judge a “radical, left, lunatic Judge” without any basis whatsoever. This type of baseless attack, levied so frequently by this Administration, undermines the foundations of our society.
Why am I so offended by Trump’s and his enablers’ attacks on the rule of law and our legal institutions? First, because in 1965 at age 13 when Eastern Europe was still behind “the Iron Curtain” of communist influence, I visited both East and West Berlin (divided by the Berlin Wall) and saw first-hand the difference between life in a democracy and life in a communist authoritarian state. Second, because I have spent my life as an attorney and servant of “The Rule of Law,” including teaching the value of the rule of law in China for nearly 30 years as that country sought to change itself from a country ruled by authoritarian men to one ruled by laws. Third, because I began my legal career working with FBI and DEA agents who day in and day out put their lives at risk to protect the rest of us and the American way of life because they are dedicated to upholding the Constitution and enforcing the law without fear of favor. They go where the facts lead them and the Constitution guides them, not where this king or that authoritarian leader orders them to go to satisfy his ego or delusions.
To evaluate Trump’s recent description of Chief Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. as “a radical left lunatic Judge who wants to assume the role of President” and his claim that the Judge should be impeached, voters should ask themselves two questions. First, what evidence is there that Judge Boasberg is “radical”, “left” or “lunatic” and warrants impeachment? Second, since a Judge’s duty is to apply the law fairly and predictably no matter who the litigants might be, rather than to avoid displeasing the current President, did Judge Boasberg act properly in issuing his temporary injunction?
To answer these questions, it is helpful to have some understanding of what is meant by “The Rule of Law” and why it is such an essential part of the American way of life.
According to the American Bar Association, “The Rule of Law is a set of principles, or ideals, for ensuring an orderly and just society.” In the U.S. among the core ideas and principles are those set forth in the Constitution, such as freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, due process, equal protection, non-discrimination, trial by jury, the right against self-incrimination, the right to legal counsel of one’s own choice, as well as the right to enter into and enforce contracts and to conduct business.
These principles and others are like the steel girders in a large building. They are the framework on which our economy is built: companies created and financed, goods and services produced, employees hired, contracts signed, bank loans issued, taxes collected and trade conducted, in a stable and predictable manner with the knowledge that should things go wrong, the independent and professional courts will establish a fair remedy, according to the facts and the law, without corrupt favoritism to any party affecting the outcome. Thus, the Rule of Law forms the building blocks on which American society is built and which makes the U.S. different than and safer to do business with than many other countries in the world.
Before any reader reflexively sides with Trump and agrees that Judge Boasberg is a “radical left lunatic judge” the following facts are worthy of consideration. Judge Boasberg was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by President George W. Bush in 2002, where he served until 2011. He was then appointed by President Barak Obama to serve as a Federal Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. His nomination to be a Federal Judge was approved by a 96-0 vote of the U.S. Senate – not an institution inclined on a bipartisan basis to appoint lunatic fringe candidates of the right or left to any judgeship. While a Federal Judge, Judge Boasberg was appointed to serve as a judge on the U.S. Foreign Surveillance Court by none other than John Roberts, Chief Judge of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Boasberg is a graduate of Yale Law School where he was a classmate and roommate of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, nominated to the Supreme Court by Donald J. Trump himself.
To answer the first question above, do these facts lead you to conclude that Boesberg has the qualifications of a “radical left lunatic Judge” worthy of impeachment? Do you believe that President George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, secretly colluded to appoint a radical left lunatic Judge to the bench? Do you think Judge Boasberg suddenly changed his spots just because of his involvement in this current case? Might Trump be using pejorative descriptors such as “radical”, “left” and “lunatic” to undermine the Judge’s credibility and professionalism without any basis in order to incite his base and right-wing media to create more division and chaos?
To answer the second question, voters should ask themselves what credible evidence of misconduct by the Judge has been presented by the Administration? If no such evidence has been presented, then the Judge has acted properly.
It seems to me that every US citizen regardless of party affiliation or social or economic status should be offended by Trump’s habit of making false and defamatory claims about individual judges and others who displease him. Most of us feel compelled to abide by the laws of the land. We abide by speed limits (most of the time), we obey traffic lights, we refrain from stealing, we pay our taxes, we honor contracts we sign and pay our rent, home loans and most of our bills on time.
We pay service providers to fix the TV, to provide internet, cable and phone service, to provide insurance for health, home and auto and all sorts of other goods and services. And we rarely defame innocent people for fear we might have to pay a steep price.
Why do so many voters, legislators and other government officials and many in the media give Trump a “pass” on many if not all of his misdeeds and his blatant contempt for the rule of law and his Oath of Office, the very rule of law that has been essential to our country’s success for 200+ years? Accepting Trump’s direct assaults on the rule of law with only hollow protests is to normalize his conduct and to accept Trump’s false pronouncements as the new rule of law – setting a dangerous precedent for all of us and with all businesses and nations with whom we interact.
We have been warned and we have seen Trump’s destruction, anger, persistence and arrogance. We ignore Trump’s warnings, conduct and his many false claims which undermine the very foundations of our society at our own peril.
The rule of law, with an independent judiciary, trial by jury and legal principles and precedents which have stood the test of time are foundational to America and its economic and social success. We should not let a billionaire serial liar and his enablers take this away from us.