WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, a federal judge called out the Justice Department for attempting to undermine her credibility in a move that she argues threatens the integrity of the judicial system. This response comes amidst ongoing clashes between the Trump administration and the judiciary over court decisions that have hindered certain elements of the former president’s agenda.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued these remarks while denying a Justice Department request to have her removed from a case involving an executive order that targeted a well-known law firm. The Trump administration sought to transfer the case to a different judge located in the federal court in Washington, arguing that Howell had shown “a pattern of hostility” towards the Republican president.
In a sharply worded statement, Howell, appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, criticized the Justice Department’s strategy, stating, “When the U.S. Department of Justice resorts to ad hominem attacks, it elevates the stakes beyond the reputation of the individual judge involved.” She went on to state that such tactics attempt to deflect blame onto the decision-maker, rather than addressing flaws in the legal arguments.
This recent development is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing disputes with the judiciary over adverse rulings against the president’s expansive executive actions, especially on immigration. The administration has intensified its critique of judges, claiming undue interference with presidential powers, with Trump even advocating for the impeachment of another judge who opposed his deportation policy.
Judge Howell remarked that the administration’s claims of “ongoing improper encroachments” on Trump’s authority seemed to echo political talking points more than legal analysis. She emphasized, “Determining the legality of actions by the Executive Branch is the responsibility of the federal courts, not the President or the Department of Justice, although robust defense of executive actions is anticipated and valuable to the legal process.”
Howell, who served as the chief judge during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, had previously ruled that the House of Representatives could access secret grand jury testimony for its investigation into Trump. The administration also highlighted Howell’s criticism of Trump’s portrayal of the January 6 criminal cases and her order for a Trump attorney to provide further testimony regarding Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The Justice Department argued that “reasonable observers” might believe Howell is biased against judging impartially on the challenges to Trump’s policies. Their claim was that “this Court has loudly expressed its disdain for President Trump both publicly and in legal proceedings.”
Judge Howell dismissed these attempts to assign another judge as relying merely on “speculation, innuendo, and basic legal disagreements,” which she asserted do not justify disqualification. Recently, she has also provisionally halted parts of the Trump administration’s executive order penalizing the law firm Perkins Coie. The issue arose from the firm’s engagement with Fusion GPS for research on Trump’s potential connections to Russia.