Yesterday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia decided to play politics and block President Trump's travel ban from going into effect. We all expected these liberal activist judges to rule against the President, but the logic they used in their ruling is by far the most dangerous example of legislating from the bench that I have ever seen.
The Court ruled that President Trump cannot regulate immigration from six Middle Eastern countries because he's a racist.
That's right, the Court decided 10-3 that because President Trump previously called for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States - which he has since retracted - he shoud not be allowed to place immigration restrictions on any Muslim-majority country. The Judges ruled that as a candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly "expressed anti-Muslim sentiment" and even though the executive order makes no mention whatsoever of religion, those statements are enough to make the order unconstitutional.
The majority opinion mirrors an argument made by the ACLU's lawyer challenging the ban. If Hillary Clinton had signed the exact same executive order, it would be Constitutional, but because Donald Trump did it, it's apparently racist.
As the country's largest daily advocacy organization, we talk to a fair number of people on Capitol Hill and have since we were founded in 2013. Last night was the first time that I have ever heard people on Capitol Hill openly talking about impeaching judges.
The country's Federal judges are not elected. They are confirmed by Congress. The Constitution also gives Congress the authority to remove judges from the bench who overreach and abuse their powers. For the first time in decades, that prospect is actually being discussed on Capitol Hill.
All ten of the judges who joined the 4th Circuit's opinion were appointed by Democrat Presidents. Their opinion reeks of liberal, Democratic talking points. Even though the executive order makes no mention of religion and applies equally to citizens of the six listed countries, regardless of their faith, the Court decided that the President signed his executive order in "bad faith, as a pretext for its religious purpose."
They decided that the President signed an executive order "that in text speaks in vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination." Instead of ruling on the actual text of the order, these Democrats in black robes issued a ruling based on how they read between the lines. What they did is unconstitutional.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions immediately announced that the ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court, where Justice Kennedy will undoubtedly cast the deciding vote. With renewed focus on the threats posed by radical Islamic terrorism, we cannot afford to let this ruling stand. People will die if activist judges are allowed to inject political correctness into national security decisions.
But even if the Supreme Court smacks down these activist judges, it won't stop them from continuing to legislate from the bench. We've seen unconstitutional rulings now from two different appeals courts. Something has to be done and thanks to the Founders, there is a solution: impeachment.
Do you know who was the last person that Congress has impeached? Judge Thomas Porteous. He was impeached in 2010 for making false financial disclosures and was formally removed from office. Before him, Judge Samuel Kent was impeached in 2009 for sexual assault. We're not talking about some ancient procedure. This is a tool that Congress has repeatedly used to rein in Federal judges who break the law or violate the Constitution.
We asked a number of people on Capitol Hill what they were going to do about these judges on the 9th and 4th Circuit Courts who are literally rewriting the law to score political points against the President. We were expecting to talk about legislation to overrule the judges. Instead, we talked impeachment.
This is an opening that we have never seen before, an opportunity to purge judicial activism from the bench. Please, take advantage of this chance!
Make no mistake, the opinion issued by the Fourth Circuit amounts to an unconstitutional act. They took a legal and constitutional document and injected their own political beliefs in order to defeat the President's agenda.
It was President Obama who signed the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 and labeled these Middle Eastern countries as threats to our national security. However, even though the countries were chosen by an act of Congress and the signature of the previous President, these liberal judges decided that it is unconstitutional for President Trump to use the same list in his executive order.
They would have no problem if Hillary Clinton had signed the order, but believe that President Trump deserves to be held to a different standard.
The reality is that while all this is happening, the country is still vulnerable. Refugees and immigrants from the Middle East are still being allowed into the country without the proper vetting.
These unelected activist judges are willing to sacrifice Americans at the altar of political correctness in order to score political points against President Trump. They deserve to be impeached for playing politics with American lives.
Members of Congress are discussing just that. Impeachment is actually on the table. It is up to you to force them to act on this. It is up to you to convince them that impeaching these activist judges is necessary!
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