根据一名联邦法官的说法，唐纳德·特朗普总统对反他或他的政府的法律决定的不断攻击开始“破坏对法治本身的信心”。
美国地方法官保罗·弗里德曼周三在华盛顿特区托马斯·弗兰纳里法官的演讲中批评特朗普对司法机构的攻击。年度演讲吸引了许多现任和前任联邦法官，包括前任副总检察长罗德·罗森斯坦。
弗里德曼告诉听众，对法治的信心下降是“我们在整个公共生活中看到的一种趋势”，并补充说，看到美国总统“直接陷入这种破坏性的叙述”尤其令人失望
“我们处于未知领域，”法官说。“我们正目睹一位首席执行官批评几乎每一项不符合他意愿的司法裁决，并诋毁对他不利的法官，有时甚至是以非常个人的方式。他似乎认为法院和司法系统是应该受到攻击和破坏的障碍，而不是应该受到尊重的平等部门，即使他不同意法院的决定。”
就在弗里德曼演讲之前，特朗普和他的共和党盟友庆祝了他的政府任命的全美联邦法院法官人数创纪录。特朗普担任总统的头三年，已经确认了150多名法官终身任职。相比之下，巴拉克·奥巴马在担任总统的八年中任命了50多名法官。
特朗普告诉那些聚集在白宫庆祝的人，他将“尽我所能阻止司法活动，确保法律得到平等、公正的维护，对我们所有的公民没有政治偏见。”
2019年11月6日，在华盛顿特区白宫东厅，唐纳德·特朗普总统观看了一场关于司法确认的活动。超过150名总统联邦司法提名人已经得到共和党控制的参议院的确认。
特朗普政府是历史上被起诉最多的政府之一。此外，目前有数十起针对特朗普本人的调查，大部分涉及他的商业帝国或2016年的竞选。当法院判决不符合他的意愿时，特朗普养成了攻击法官或裁决不公平或有偏见的习惯。
今年早些时候，特朗普对一名联邦法官发起了攻击，这名法官用他宣布的国家紧急状态中获得的资金阻止了他修建边境关键地段的企图。总统推特法官是奥巴马的积极分子，他“反对边境安全，支持犯罪、毒品和人口贩运”
弗里德曼在周三的讲话中特别提到特朗普对地方法院法官贡萨洛·库利艾尔的攻击，后者在2016年特朗普大学的一个案件中对他不利。特朗普当时断言，库利艾尔对他有偏见，因为他有墨西哥血统，也因为他是由奥巴马任命的。
弗里德曼说，特朗普对库利艾尔的人身攻击“不仅仅是吹口哨”法官补充说，任何针对特朗普的裁决都是因为法官遵守法律和宪法，而不是因为对总统有更大的仇恨。
“这不正常，”弗里德曼说。“我的意思是，这种对法院和法官个人的人身攻击违反了所有公认的民主规范。”
FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS DONALD TRUMP'S ATTACKS 'UNDERMINE FAITH IN THE RULE OF LAW ITSELF'
President Donald Trump's incessant attacks on legal decisions that push back against him or his administration are starting to "undermine faith in the rule of law itself," according to one federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman criticized Trump's onslaught on the judiciary in a damning speech at the Judge Thomas A. Flannery Lecture in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The annual lecture drew many current and former federal judges, including former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Friedman told the audience that decreasing faith in the rule of law is a "trend we're seeing throughout public life," adding that it is especially disappointing to see the president of the United States "feeding right into this destructive narrative."
"We are in uncharted territory," the judge said. "We are witnessing a chief executive who criticizes virtually every judicial decision that doesn't go his way and denigrates judges who rule against him, sometimes in very personal terms. He seems to view the courts and the justice system as obstacles to be attacked and undermined, not as a co-equal branch to be respected even when he disagrees with its decisions."
Just before Friedman's speech, Trump and his GOP allies celebrated the record number of judges his administration has appointed to federal courts across the United States. In his first three years as president, Trump has confirmed more than 150 judges to lifetime appointments. By contrast, Barack Obama appointed just over 50 judges in his eight years as president.
Trump told those gathered at the White House for the celebration that he would "do everything in my power to halt judicial activism and to ensure the law is upheld equally, fairly and without political prejudice for all of our citizens."
President Donald Trump looks on during an event about judicial confirmations in the East Room of the White House on November 6, 2019, in Washington, D.C. More than 150 of the president's federal judicial nominees have been confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
The Trump administration is one of the most sued in history. Plus, there are dozens of ongoing investigations against Trump himself, most dealing with his business empire or his 2016 campaign. When a court decision doesn't go his way, Trump has made it a habit to attack the judge or the ruling as unfair or biased.
Earlier this year, Trump launched an attack on a federal judge who blocked his attempt to build key sections of his border wall with money secured from his declaration of a national emergency. The president tweeted that the judge was an Obama activist who was "against Border Security and in favor of crime, drugs and human trafficking."
In his speech Wednesday, Friedman specifically pointed to Trump's attacks on District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who ruled against him in a case involving Trump University in 2016. Trump asserted at the time that Curiel was being biased against him because of his Mexican heritage and because he was appointed by Obama.
Friedman said that Trump's personal attacks on Curiel were "beyond a dog whistle." The judge added that any rulings against Trump happened because judges are following the law and the Constitution, not because of a larger vendetta against the president.
"This is not normal," Friedman said. "And I mean that both in the colloquial sense and in the sense that this kind of personal attack on courts and individual judges violates all recognized democratic norms."
