US judiciary warns of threats amid ‘concerning’ calls to impeach judges

WASHINGTON – Key members of the US federal judiciary warned on March 11 of a rising number of threats directed at their colleagues and described calls to impeach judges over their rulings “concerning” as some Republican lawmakers push to remove jurists who have blocked US President Donald Trump’s policies.

US Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, who chairs the US Judicial Conference’s security committee, told reporters following a meeting of the judiciary’s top policymaking body in Washington that the court system was doing everything it could to bolster security for judges at work and at home.

Judge Sullivan said: “The security of judges and courthouses is a top priority for the judiciary.”

Judge Sullivan, who was appointed to the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals by Mr Trump in his first term, said he was “not here to point fingers” and had seen no data yet reflecting whether threats directed at judges are up in 2025.

But he said public officials need to be “very careful and responsible” in what they say about other branches of government and the US system of justice, given that some people may act “inappropriately” based on what they read.

Billionaire Elon Musk and other Trump administration allies have publicly sought to discredit judges who stand in the way of White House efforts to slash federal jobs and programmes, including by calling for the impeachment of some.

Reuters last week reported that US marshals have warned judges of unusually high threat levels, according to several judges. It also reported that security has been bolstered for some judges assigned cases over Trump administration initiatives.

Judge Sullivan said his concerns about threats mirrored those in Chief US Supreme Court Justice John Roberts’ year-end report on Dec 31. The report noted that in the past five years, the US Marshals Service has investigated more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges.

Some Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives in recent weeks have introduced resolutions seeking to impeach three jurists who blocked Trump initiatives.

To remove a judge from office, the House must pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority vote, and then the Senate must vote by at least a two-thirds majority to convict the judge.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress but do not have a two-thirds majority in the Senate.

Only 15 federal jurists have ever been impeached, and only eight have been convicted by the Senate, most recently in 2010. Under the US Constitution, the grounds for impeachment are treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours.

Judge Sullivan said if someone dislikes a ruling, they can appeal.

“Impeachment shouldn’t be a short-circuiting of that process,” Judge Sullivan said. “And so it is concerning if impeachment is used in a way that is designed to do just that.”

US Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton, an appointee of former Republican president George W. Bush on the Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals and who chairs the Judicial Conference’s executive committee, echoed those comments.

“One thing worth keeping in mind is if we dilute the standards for impeachment, that’s not just a problem for judges,” Judge Sutton said. “That’s a problem for all three branches of government.” REUTERS