Trump-Appointed Judge Rips White House’s ‘Concerted Effort’ to ‘Smear’ Judiciary While Tossing Trump Immigration Suit

(Matt Cardy/PA Wire URN:32590714)

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump called out the administration’s “concerted effort” to “smear” the judiciary in his decision to toss the Justice Department’s immigration lawsuit against Maryland judges.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, brought in from Virginia to handle the case, dismissed the Trump administration’s attempt to sue every federal judge in Maryland over a rule slowing deportations.

“Much as the Executive fights the characterization, a lawsuit by the executive branch of government against the judicial branch for the exercise of judicial power is not ordinary,” Cullen wrote in his decision, adding that the administration’s decision to choose a “more confrontational path” was “no surprise.”

The judge highlighted and condemned the Trump administration’s criticism of the judiciary in general in a footnote:

Indeed, over the past several months, principal officers of the Executive (and their spokespersons) have described federal district judges across the country as “left-wing,” “liberal,” “activists,” “radical,” “politically minded,” “rogue,” “unhinged,” “outrageous, overzealous, [and] unconstitutional,” “[c]rooked,” and worse.

Although some tension between the coordinate branches of government is a hallmark of our constitutional system, this concerted effort by the Executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate.

The dispute stemmed from an order issued in May by Chief Judge George Russell, requiring Maryland judges to impose an automatic two-day pause in deportation cases. Russell’s measure came amid an aggressive push by the Trump administration to accelerate removals, in some instances before migrants could contest their cases.

The Justice Department argued the order amounted to a sweeping injunction against federal action, imposed without assessing individual claims.

But Cullen said the administration must “find a proper way to raise those concerns” rather than sue judges directly. He did not rule on whether Russell had the authority to issue the order itself.