Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent comments about the power of judges were quickly debunked on MSNBC Thursday morning. Bondi, who defended Donald Trump during his first impeachment, was on Fox News Wednesday night, where she criticized U.S. District Judge James Boasberg for questioning the transfer of 200 alleged gang members to El Salvador. Bondi argued that judges shouldn’t interfere with actions related to national security or foreign policy.
Bondi, a Trump appointee, said, “He’s attempting to meddle in national security and foreign affairs and he can’t do it. What he’s done is an intrusion on the president’s authority. This one federal judge thinks he can control foreign policy for the entire country and he cannot. Right now, we’re evaluating our options.”
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough quickly responded with a fact check, emphasizing that federal judges have long had the authority to challenge presidential actions in various areas, including national security. He pointed out that in 2007, a judge stopped George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program, a key part of the “War on Terror.” Although the decision was appealed, the judge’s ruling was significant.
“In 2007, one federal judge stopped George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program, the NSA program,” he started. “You can’t get, like, any deeper into national security in the middle of a war on terror than telling the NSA you can’t continue that program –– one judge did that. It got appealed and guess what? He got to continue the program.”
Scarborough continued by mentioning other instances where federal judges intervened in presidential policies. He cited cases involving former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. These included decisions on immigration, gender identity, and vaccine mandates for federal contractors.
“The same thing happened with Barack Obama,” he said. A judge out of Texas on an immigration issue; one federal judge out of Texas stops the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program. One federal judge out of Texas stopped a Title IX program about gender identity in the Obama administration. One federal judge out of Texas stopped Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates for federal contractors –– it happens.”
Scarborough concluded by expressing disbelief that Bondi and others continue to make claims they know are false. “One federal judge stops a president’s programs, and it happens all the time,” he said.
Watch the segment below from MSNBC:
