Jay Sekulow on Fox News: Chief Justice Roberts Threatened on ObamaCare

Donnerstag, 24. Mai 2012

Jay Sekulow on Fox News: Chief Justice Roberts Threatened on ObamaCare

It didn't take long. Just days after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in March on the constitutionality of ObamaCare, President Obama lashed out - chastising the Justices of the high court. If the Justices reject ObamaCare, the President warned that the Court would be taking an "unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress." He also attempted to raise doubts about the legitimacy of such opposition by what he called "activist" and "unelected" justices.

And, now another example of unfair and unwise criticism aimed at the high court. This time, the target is Chief Justice John Roberts. And the warning is issued by Sen. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vermont) and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Leahy lashed out against the Chief Justice, and warned he would be branded a "conservative activist" if Roberts and a majority of the Court declare ObamaCare unconstitutional. He even warned that the legacy of the Chief Justice would be tarnished if the court doesn't "do the right thing" and keep ObamaCare in place.

This attack on the Chief Justice is absurd and unwarranted.

As I told Megyn Kelly on FOX News today, the comments by Sen. Leahy are an outrageous bullying tactic - an effort to meddle into the internal operations of the nation's highest court. You can watch the interview here.

To engage in this kind of intimidation campaign aimed at the high court is not only wrong, but disheartening as well. What's worse, it's happening while the case is pending, before the decision is announced.

What Sen. Leahy and President Obama would like Americans to ignore is the fact that the judiciary - with the nation's highest court at the helm - is a co-equal branch of government. Not subservient to Congress or to the President. This latest round of the politics of intimidation is disappointing, but sadly predictable.