Chuck Schumer Threatens Two Supreme Court Justices

There is no issue more important to many Democrats than abortion.

It’s the driving force behind some of their loathing of Donald Trump and the reason for all those silly pink hats after his inauguration.

They are terrified that if Ruth Bader Ginsburg leaves the Court during a second Trump term, the president will appoint another conservative justice and there goes abortion. Even though most jurists accept Roe v Wade as settled law.

The party that once wanted the procedure to be “legal, safe and rare” and acknowledged that it was a morally complicated issue is now populated by many unapologetic abortion enthusiasts.

For proof, just listen to yesterday’s unhinged rant by Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in front of the Supreme Court building where he threatened two U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

The Supremes are hearing a challenge to a Louisiana law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. In other words, a law that requires abortion clinics to be held to the same standard as other medical clinics in that state.

Scary, huh?

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch, and I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” Schumer bellowed into the wind. “You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

Schumer’s outburst was reprehensible. Premature, too, because the justices are hearing arguments now. No decisions have been made. The minority leader is clearly trying to bully the Court into striking down a law he doesn’t like.

It’s not only conservatives disgusted by Schumer’s behavior.

Far-left Harvard law professor, Laurence Tribe denounced the dangerous ravings of the Senate minority leader as “inexcusable.”

These remarks by @SenSchumer were inexcusable. Chief Justice Roberts was right to call him on his comments. I hope the Senator, whom I’ve long admired and consider a friend, apologizes and takes back his implicit threat. It’s beneath him and his office. https://t.co/xbNnUeznRR

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) March 4, 2020

Yes, yes, I know. Donald Trump recently said two justices - Ginsburg, who called him a “faker” during the 2016 campaign, and Sonia Sotomayor, who criticized conservatives on the court for siding with the Trump administration in several cases - should recuse themselves from cases that involve his administration.

That was uncalled for by the president and out of line. But it was not a threat.

It’s a false equivalency to compare the two.

Schumer’s diatribe was so offensive that Chief Justice John Roberts felt compelled to respond. Something he rarely does.

“This morning, Senator Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside. Senator Schumer referred to two Members of the Court by name and said he wanted to tell them that 'You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions." Roberts continued: "Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter.”

This is only the second time Roberts has publicly reacted to criticism of the Court. Lest anyone accuse him of partiality, the first was two years ago when Trump called members of the court “Obama justices.”

The president was wrong to characterize justices that way and Roberts indignantly told him so.

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said in a statement. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

Unhappiness with the court is nothing new. Franklin Roosevelt attempted to pack the court when his New Deal legislation was repeatedly struck down by the high court. When I was a child I remember seeing billboards urging America to “Impeach Earl Warren,” the Eisenhower appointee who led the court to several important civil rights decision.

But threatening justices - with impeachment or violence or who knows what - is a chilling development.

Schumer should be censured by the Senate. And the two newest justices should ignore the minority leader’s sidewalk theatrics.