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Alex Wong / Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The president's nominee for the Supreme Court said Wednesday that President Trump's recent attacks on the judiciary are “disheartening” and “demoralizing,” the team helping the White House with the nomination confirmed to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday.
In a meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, first reported by CNN, Judge Neil Gorsuch used those two words to describe Trump's multi-day attacks on courts and specific judges that have heard challenges to his recent travel and refugee ban executive order.
The judge's comments came just more than a week after Trump announced that Gorsuch, currently a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, would be his nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court and five days after US District Judge James Robart put much of the ban on hold.
Specifically, CNN reported, Gorsuch took umbrage at Trump's tweet referring to Robart as a “so-called judge.”
Trump continued his attacks throughout the day and in the days since.
On Feb. 5, Trump appeared to place blame for any future terror-related attacks on Robart.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments Tuesday over whether to keep Robart's temporary restraining order in place while the case is litigated, leading Trump on Wednesday to say, “I watched last night in amazement and I heard things that I couldn't believe … courts seem to be so political.” He added, of Robart's order, “Right now we are at risk because of what happened.”
Gorsuch's comments, as incomplete as they are, are significant due to the rarity of a judge speaking out on such political issues. Even in the midst of Trump's attacks on US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, no federal judges spoke out
In fact, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apparently is the only federal judge — before Wednesday — to directly speak out against Trump's comments or actions.
“He has no consistency about him,” Ginsburg said at one point over the summer. “He says whatever comes into his head at the moment.”
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