Donald J. Trump, meet your newest nemesis, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart.
The president hasĀ calledĀ Robart a “so-called judge” because he had the nerve to halt the president’s ban on refugeesĀ entering the UnitedĀ StatesĀ from Muslim-majority countries.
If I might be so brazen, my inclination is to wonder aloud — given Trump’s love of Twitter as his primary attack medium — whether he could beĀ labeled a “so-called president.”
Nah … I won’t go there.
There’s not a damn thing “so-called” about Robart, who was appointed to the federal bench in western Washington state by President George W. Bush.
According to NBC News: “He (Robart) suggested in court that Trump’s 90-day entry ban on people from the countries of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen was not ‘rationally based,’ since no one from any those countries had been arrested in the U.S. on terrorism-related charges since 9/11.”
There’s more: “‘I’m sorry, there’s no other way to put it,’ Robarts said from the bench. ‘It’s Keystone Cops. It really is. And that’s not just me speaking, that’s Republican members of Congress.'”
The president doesn’t like being criticized by anyone. Not by the media, or political foes or by judges who disagree with his decisions. His mode of response? Twitter! He tweeted: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
Judge Robart is doing what he believes his oathĀ requires him to do, which is to interpret federal law to see if it squares against the U.S. Constitution.
Robart is a Seattle native, he received his undergraduate degree in Walla Walla, Wash., got his law degree at Georgetown and practice law in Seattle from 1973 until 2004, when President Bush tapped for him for the federal bench; the Senate approved his nomination.
There’s nothing “so-called” about this fellow, Mr. President.
Pipe down and let the system play out.