Judge Luttig says Trump is more dangerous to the nation and the courts than a mobster.
Luttig wrote:
The Nation is witnessing the decisive delegitimization of both its federal and state justice systems and the systematic dismantling of its justice system and rule of law by one man: the former President of the United States.
In the months ahead, one can only expect the former president to intensify his unprecedented efforts to delegitimize the courts of the United States, the nation’s state courts, and the American justice system, through his vicious, shameful, and and unforgivable threats to the federal and state judiciary and the individual judges of these courts.
Never in American history has anyone, much less a president of the United States, launched such threatening attacks against federal and state courts and federal and state judicial officers of the type that the former president has launched continuously for years now.
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But suffice it to say, never in history has anyone launched such attacks and been met with such passivity, acquiescence and submission from the nation.
It is a deplorable commentary on our times that a lone federal judge, the Honorable Judge Reggie B. Walton – – for no one whose responsibility it is to do so has had the courage and will – is ultimately left with no choice but himself , to express on national television the deep concerns of all federal and state judiciaries about Donald Trump’s despicable attacks on federal and state courts, on the judges of those courts and their families, and on other participants in the judicial process.
It is the responsibility of the United States Supreme Court in the first instance to protect federal courts, federal judges, and all participants in the justice system from the reprehensible spectacle of the former president’s inexcusable and threatening attacks, just as it is the responsibility of the respective state Supreme Courts in first instance to protect their state courts and judges from this.
Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of the entire nation to protect its courts and its judges, its Constitution, its rule of law, and American democracy from vicious attacks, threats, undermining, and deliberate delegitimization by anyone so determined.
Judge Luttig went to Deadline: MSNBC’s White House and expanded 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 now he’s trying to delegitimize American democracy… That’s the existential threat America faces today.” pic.twitter.com/6WwNQRlMpx
– Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 29, 2024
Luttig said on MSNBC:
As I said last month, Donald Trump has largely succeeded in delegitimizing both America’s democracy and elections, as well as its Constitution and rule of law. Now, regarding 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 now he’s trying to delegitimize American democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law. This is the existential threat America faces today.
The courts are not equipped to handle a former president who attacks their legitimacy
Courts have power because society agrees on their legitimacy. If Donald Trump could delegitimize the justice system, he would destroy the justice system in the United States. Without legitimacy, courts cannot function.
Judge Luttig’s last paragraph was the most important. The courts don’t 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 government and society.
Lawyers believe in the rule of law. It’s their professional religion, but the rule of law can’t stop Trump. If the former president is convicted of a felony charge in Manhattan, he will not be barred from serving as president if he wins in November.
Only the voters can save the nation. This being the most important election of our lifetime is often discussed, but in 2024 it has never been truer.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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