White House senior advisor Stephen Miller is on a mission to place America's federal court system under White House control.
His lawsuit filed by the America First Legal Foundation directly targets Chief Justice John Roberts. While packaged as a routine records request, it asks for something far more dangerous: to declare that the bodies running America's federal courts are part of the executive branch, not the independent judiciary. This would let the president control judicial operations nationwide, from budgets to security. The lawsuit notes that "Federal courts rely on the executive branch for facility management and security" and that judges "need resources to fulfill their constitutional obligations."
Legal scholars view this as part of an escalating campaign to erode judicial independence. UCLA Law professor Blake Emerson told Talking Points Memo that the suit's claims were "outlandish," warning that if successful, it would grant the White House control over "the means by which the judicial branch functionally operates."
Trump has already shown his disdain for the court system by ignoring Supreme Court orders and threatening to withdraw U.S. Marshals' protection from judges.
"To the extent this lawsuit has any value other than clickbait, maybe the underlying message is, we will let our imaginations run wild," said NYU Law professor Peter M. Shane. "The Trump administration and the MAGA community will let our imaginations run wild in our attempts to figure out ways to make the life of the judiciary miserable."
Previously:
• Trump advisor Stephen Miller and Fox's Jesse Watters fantasize about mass deportations
• Stephen Miller's seriously racist emails
• Trump aide Stephen Miller paints on hair
• Trump aide Stephen Miller was a creepy glue-eating kid in 3rd grade, says former teacher
• Trump's ghoul Miller gets super screamy on MSNBC
• Teacher who said Trump aide Stephen Miller was a 'strange dude' who ate glue is suspended
