U.S. chief justice defends federal judiciary after Trump comments
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts participates in taking a new family photo with his fellow justices at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
(Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday defended the federal judiciary a day after President Donald Trump referred to a judge who ruled against his policy limiting asylum for certain immigrants as an “Obama judge.”
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts, a conservative who was appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush, said in a statement released by the Supreme Court. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
Trump on Tuesday took aim at U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco, who on Monday temporarily blocked an order by the Republican president that barred asylum for immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico, the latest courtroom defeat for Trump on immigration policy. Tigar was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama.
Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham
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