Judge Luttig says that Trump is more dangerous to the nation and the courts than a mobster.
Luttig posted:
The Nation is witnessing the determined delegitimization of both its Federal and State judiciaries and the systematic dismantling of its system of justice and Rule of Law by a single man â the former President of the United States.
In the months ahead, the former president can only be expected to ramp up his unprecedented efforts to delegitimize the courts of the United States, the nationâs state courts, and Americaâs system of justice, through his vicious, disgraceful, and unforgiveable attacks and threats on the Federal and State Judiciaries and the individual Judges of these courts.
Never in American history has any person, let alone a President of the United States, leveled such threatening attacks against the federal and state courts and federal and state judicial officers of the kind the former president has leveled continually now for years.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
But suffice it to say, never in history has any person leveled such attacks and been met with such passivity, acquiescence, and submissiveness by the nation.
It is a regrettable commentary on our times that a lone federal judge, The Honorable Judge Reggie B. Walton –– because no one whose responsibility it is to do so has had the courage and the will — would finally be left no choice but, himself, to express on national television the profound concerns of the entire Federal and State Judiciaries over Donald Trumpâs contemptible attacks on the federal and state courts, the judges of these courts and their families, and the other participants in the judicial process.
It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States in the first instance to protect the federal courts, the federal judges, and all participants in the justice system from the reprehensible spectacle of the former president’s inexcusable, threatening attacks, just as it is the responsibility of the respective State Supreme Courts in the first instance to protect their courts and their state judges from the same.
Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of the entire nation to protect its courts and judges, its Constitution, its Rule of Law, and America’s Democracy from vicious attack, threat, undermine, and deliberate delegitimization at the hands of anyone so determined.
Judge Luttig went on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House and expanded on his post:
#JudgeLuttig on #DeadlineWH “A mobster could never pose the threat that Trump poses to American democracy and the rule of law. It’s the fact that he was a POTUS and is now attempting to delegitimize America’s democracy…That’s the existential threat that faces America today.” pic.twitter.com/6WwNQRlMpx
â Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 29, 2024
Luttig said on MSNBC:
As I’ve said over the past month, Donald Trump has largely succeeded in delegitimizing both America’s democracy and elections as well as its constitution and rule of law. Now, to your reference to a mobster, make no mistake. A mobster could never pose the threat that Donald Trump poses to American democracy and the rule of law. It’s the fact that he was a President Of The United States of America and is now attempting to delegitimize America’s democracy, the constitution, and the rule of law. That’s the existential threat that faces America today.
The Courts Are Not Equipped To Handle An Ex-President Attacking Their Legitimacy
Courts have power because society agrees on their legitimacy. If Donald Trump is successful in delegitimizing the court system, he will destroy the judicial system in the United States. Without legitimacy, courts can’t function.
Judge’s Luttig’s last paragraph was the most important. The courts do not have the tools to handle Trump on their own. It is up to the entire nation to reject Trump and his delegitimization of the nation’s system of governance and society.
Lawyers believe in the rule of law. It is their professional religion, but the rule of law can’t stop Trump. If the ex-president is convicted of a criminal felony in Manhattan, he will not be barred from serving as president if he wins in November.
Only voters can save the nation. The phase this is the most important election of our lifetime gets thrown around a lot, but in 2024, it had never been more true.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelorâs Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association