Retired Federal Judge Says This Trump Admin Move ‘Should Give All Of Us Pause’
Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner has weighed in on a current federal judge’s accusation that the Trump administration has defied a judicial order.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell said the White House had failed to fully comply with his order to unfreeze federal spending.
“It is significant,” Gertner told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.
But also, “It’s really very, very straightforward here,” she added.
Gertner explained that Trump, who faces legal challenges over several of his executive orders, had “a lawful way to do all of this” through the GOP-controlled chambers of Congress.
“There are steps that one can follow, there are rules to be followed and all he did is completely ignore them,” Gertner continued. “And ignore his own Congress, which is really something that should give all of us pause.”
Gertner emphasized the importance of a federal judge’s ruling.
“When a federal judge issues an order, the federal judge is making a determination, for a preliminary order, that there’s a likelihood of success on the merits, so it has to be a strong case,” she explained.
“Judges don’t do this out of the air,” she added.
“The notion that judges across the country have done this really should give this government pause that what they’ve done is not just mildly illegal but very, very illegal,” she added, “and judges have recognized that.”
Watch the full analysis here: