Chief Justice John G. Roberts' smackdown of President Trump today illustrates the wisdom of our founding fathers when they established the three separate and equal branches of our government, executive, legislative and the judiciary.
Roberts responded to Trump's complaint Tuesday that he was "going to put in a major complaint" against U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar who temporarily blocked the Trump administration from denying asylum to migrants who illegally cross the southern border.
Tiger ruled late Monday that federal law clearly states that migrants can seek asylum anywhere on U.S. soil.
Trump was infuriated by the decision, saying it was a "disgrace."
"This was an Obama judge," Trump said. "And I'll tell you what, it's not going to happen like this anymore. Everybody that wants to sue the United States, they file their case in -- almost -- they file their case in the 9th Circuit (where Tiger sits). And it means an automatic loss no matter what you do, no matter how good your case is."
He then predicted the Supreme Court would uphold the administration's position in the matter.
Trump has complained about the 9th circuit practically since his election. That's the court that upheld the suspension of Trump's travel ban last year and he has sought to reshape it. But most likely, what ticked off Trump as much as, or maybe even more than, losing the migrants' case Tuesday was this statement from Tigar:
"Whatever the scope of the President's authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden."
So in calling out Trump, the judge said , in effect, "Hey, Mr. Trump, you are NOT a dictator. Your word is NOT law."
Then today, Chief Justice Roberts issued his smackdown statement, further putting Trump in his place:
"We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts declared. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”
Then, the chief justice added, “That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
There is no doubt about that.