Chief Justice John Roberts defends U.S. courts against Trump stink bomb

'Be thankful'

Both before and after his election, President Donald Trump impugned the integrity of any judge whose ruling vexed him. Sometimes he blamed ethnicity; other times, intellect or politics. Never did he present facts to support his argument.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, a Republican appointee presiding over a conservative majority in the top court, clearly has heard enough of it.

After Trump blasted a federal judge who ruled against Trump's migrant asylum policy as an "Obama judge," Roberts issued a highly unusual press statement declaring the system has no "Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges."

Roberts said Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, that an "independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for."

Apparently Trump disagrees. His administration keeps losing rulings before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been attacked by conservative activists as too liberal. His latest sneer was aimed at U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who temporarily blocked him from denying asylum to migrants who crossed the border illegally because, Tigar said, Trump violated a "clear command" from Congress to allow them to apply.

Not quiet on the Mueller front

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday urged a judge to deny a request from ex-Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos to delay commencement of his jail sentence, which is due to begin Monday.

In the wider Russiagate story, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Mueller could still seek answers on matters of obstruction of justice beyond written answers to his questions submitted by the president's legal team.

Having now failed to negotiate terms for a direct Trump interview with Mueller's team — which Giuliani initially said was his assignment — the ex-mayor signaled they'll resist further questions that could violate executive privilege. "It's not on the table, but could be put back on the table," Giuliani told CNN.

Lock who up?

The story that Trump last spring wanted White House counsel Donald McGahn to get the Justice Department to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey hasn't gone over well outside the president's immediate circle.

Alberto Gonzales, attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, called it a "very very serious situation," adding: "We live in a democracy, and you don’t go after political rivals." Of course, Trump's former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said something similar last year during his Senate confirmation hearings.

At the same time, presidential daughter-adviser Ivanka Trump's use of private emails for White House business might deflate some of the GOP outrage about Clinton's private emails. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is requesting further information on Ivanka's practices.

Doing a Hatch job

The watchdog group American Oversight filed complaints against acting Attorney General Mathew Whitaker on Wednesday. One of its concerns is that while on the Justice Department payroll, he accepted contributions to his still-active 2014 U.S. Senate campaign committee totaling $8,800.

Whitaker lost the race. The Hatch Act restricts political activities by federal employees.

On Wednesday, Whitaker added to public doubts about his new role with an unforced error — claiming erroneously before an audience of law enforcement officials that Ahmad Khan Rahimi, who was sentenced to life for the 2016 bombings in Chelsea and New Jersey, had two co-conspirators overseas and that one was in custody.

The Justice Department later clarified that Whitaker's prepared remarks initially referred to a different defendant in an unidentified case that was "inadvertently" left in his speech.

What else is happening:

• Sen.-elect Mitt Romney (R-Utah) slammed Trump's statement of fealty to Saudi Arabia as "inconsistent" with "American greatness."
• Trump tweeted thanks to the Saudi kingdom for low oil prices.
• Whitaker's record as a U.S. attorney shows a willingness to impose unusually stiff sentences in drug crimes, The Washington Post reported.
• For the record, Trump's sister Maryanne Trump Barry was named to the federal court by President Ronald Reagan but promoted to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by President Bill Clinton.
• GOP political operative Nick Ayers keeps getting his name mentioned as a possible successor to Chief of Staff John Kelly.
• Slow going on a U.S.-European trade deal has the White House considering inviting the CEOs of Germany's three top automakers to talk, The Wall Street Journal reports.

By Dan Janison

dan.janison@newsday.comDanJanison

Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.