A pro-Trump group has filed a lawsuit against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in an attempt to unravel what the group sees as judicial overreach against the Trump administration.
The lawsuit from the America First Legal Foundation seeks information from Roberts in his official capacity as head of the U.S. Judicial Conference, which meets to consider policies related to the federal court system.
‘Under our constitutional tradition, accommodations with Congress are the province of the executive branch.’
The lawsuit also lists Robert J. Conrad, the head of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. AFL argues that the conference and the administrative office have overstepped the bounds of the judiciary and encroached upon the authority of the executive branch, thereby making them subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. The lawsuit cites actions taken in 2023 to investigate allegations against Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas that led to the creation of an ethics code.
“Under our constitutional tradition, accommodations with Congress are the province of the executive branch,” said the AFL.
The two groups had denied FOIA requests demanding information regarding their interactions with Democrat politicians about the demands on the Supreme Court justices. AFL’s lawsuit aims to force both to comply with the requests.
The lawsuit would also have the two judicial organizations declared to be “independent agencies within the executive branch” and suggests that the president should have the power to appoint and remove the heads of both groups. This would swing power away from the judicial branch into the executive branch.
Supporters of the president and his policies have excoriated court rulings that they say interfere with the executive branch’s authority.
Roberts previously waded into the separation of powers debate when he issued a rare statement opposing suggestions from Trump and his allies that they would seek to impeach judges over rulings they saw as improperly politically motivated.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” wrote Roberts in March. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The case will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who was appointed by Trump. The president’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, founded AFL.
The lawsuit is described by Fox News as a long-shot effort.
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