May 9, 2024 - by Fred Bates
Back in March of this year (2024), three federal Court of Appeals judges, J. Michael Luttig, Beryl Howell, and Reggie Walton criticized Donald Trump and January 6th participants either directly or indirectly as a result of the criminal cases being pursued against Trump.
In a piece published in The Atlantic, Luttig, who is retired, commented that the Supreme Court had "dangerously betrayed" democracy when it reversed the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to bar Trump from the ballot based on the insurrection ban under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Luttig described Section 3 as a safety net for America's democracy that automictically disqualify oath-breaking insurrectionists against the Constitution from holding public office. Luttig pushed back on the notion that barring Trump from the ballot is undemocratic stating that disqualification is not antidemocratic; rather it's the insurrection that is antidemocratic.
My criticism of Judge Luttig begins with the ridiculous claim that January 6th was an insurrection, when it is clear that was a protest gone wrong. In other words, it was a riot. Nothing more and nothing less. My next criticism of Luttig is the silly notion that the Colorado Supreme Court's decision was correct. The U.S. Supreme Court got it right by ruling that Congress has the exclusive authority to enforce the 14th Amendment to disqualify federal candidates.
D.C. Circuit Judge Beryl Howell, who correctly referred to January 6th as a riot, stated that it was based on "big lies," and that the country was turning to authoritarian rule. Howell said that many of the January 6th defendants that disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election were misled by big lies. Howell stated that we are having a very surprising and downright troubling moment in this country when the very importance of facts is dismissed or ignored, and that's risky business for all of us in our democracy. Howell said that "the facts matter."
Judge Reggie Walton, who also sits on the D.C. Circuit like Judge Howell appeared on CNN to speak out against threats against the judiciary and respond to comments former President Donald Trump made about the daughter of the judge, Juan Merchan, presiding over his New York criminal trial. Trump called Judge Merchan's daughter a "Rabid Trump Hater" on his social media platform Truth Social. Judge Walton said that it is disconcerting to have someone making comments about a judge, and it's particularly problematic when those comments are in the form of a threat, especially if they are directed at one's family. Judge Walton added that judges do their jobs because they are committed to the rule of law and they [judges] believe in the rule of law, and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm.
These judges are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Their words ring hollow! As I already stated, Judge Luttig comments about January 6th and the 14th Amendment are nonsensical. His claim that the U.S. Supreme Court "betrayed democracy" by striking down the Colorado Supreme Court ruling removing Trump from the ballot lacks credibility. How the U.S. Supreme Court has "betrayed democracy" is my failing to rein in rogue judges in the lower federal courts. This entire blog has been devoted to exposing corruption in the U.S. District Court in San Jose and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that has undermined our Constitution and democracy.
Judge Howell stated that January 6th was based on big lies and that the country is turning to authoritarian rule. I disagree with Judge Howell that January 6th was based on big lies. Since Judge Howell didn't specify what the "big lies" were, I am assuming that she was talking about claims that the election was stolen because of fraud. It used to be widely accepted that there was fraud in every national election. Couple that with the large number of irregularities that occurred in the 2020 presidential election that were not adequately investigated, how can you say with a straight face that it is a 100 percent certainty that the election was not stolen.
Judge Howell's comment that the country is somehow turning to authoritarian rule because of January 6th is intellectually lacking. It's judges in our federal judiciary, in particular, that are the authoritarians. Just read this blog Judge Howell and you will learn something about authoritarian rule. Judge Howell claim that we are in a troubling moment in this country because the importance of facts is dismissed or ignored, and that's risky business for all of us in our democracy. Again, Judge Howell, it's federal judges like you that all too often dismiss or ignore the importance of facts. Unlike what Judge Howell proclaims that "the facts matter," the facts quite often do not matter in our federal judiciary. She, of all people, should know this.
Judge Walton, as noted above, finds comments about judges to be problematic. He seems to equate Trump's claim that Judge Merchan's daughter is a "Rabid Trump Hater" as some type of threat. That's nonsense. However, I agree that any credible threat against a judge or a family member of a judge is unacceptable and should be addressed by law enforcement. I covered this same subject in one of my posts in this blog. On the other hand, judges are not exempt from criticism. It appears that Judge Walton might be a little thin-skinned. But criticism of government officials is an acceptable practice in a democracy.
My biggest issue with Judge Walton is his claim that judges do their jobs because they are committed to the rule of law and that judges believe in the rule of law. That simply is not true. One of the primary reasons for this blog by me is that judges in the U.S. District Court in San Jose and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals showed utter disdain for the rule of law when making rulings against me in my lawsuits against the City of San Jose filed in 2006 and 2015. In a phone call with Senior Deputy San Jose City Attorney Matthew Pritchard, he told me judges did not have to follow the law. He said that the law is whatever judges say it is. How's that for authoritarian rule? Pritchard also said that I would lose because judges never change their decisions, even if they a clearly wrong. That is precisely what happened in my two lawsuits. For Judge Walton to make such bold claims that judges are committed to the rule of law, and they believe in the rule of law is totally dishonest and hypocritical.
Judges Luttig, Howell, and Walton knew with absolute certainty that the claims they were making, as discussed above, were disinformation. The real betrayal of democracy by the U.S. Supreme Court is its failure to provide adequate oversight of subordinate federal judges that are the real authoritarians that often times dismiss or ignore important facts and are not committed to the rule of law. It is our federal judiciary that poses the greater threat to democracy, not January 6th and Donald Trump.
