Dem
47
GOP
53
Let us begin here by noting that we do not use the word "fascism" lightly, and we certainly do not deploy it for dramatic effect or to advance a particular agenda (unless that agenda is "fascism is bad"). In fact, you can go back into our past postings and find instances of us resisting the label and writing that the Trump movement did not quite qualify, in our view. But these days, with Donald Trump in power again, and with him being surrounded by people who are, on average, far more fanatical than the folks in Trump v1.0, the rubicon has been crossed.
We will also add, as long as we are on the subject, that we tend to doubt that Trump could give a credible definition of "fascism" or that he has a broad plan for implementing a fascist-style regime. He just goes on instinct, and his instincts just happen to be Mussoliniesque or Hitlerian (Note: we did not know this until we looked it up, but both of those adjectives are well-enough-established so as to appear in the OED). Meanwhile, the President is surrounded by people who do know what fascism is, and do have a broad plan, and know that they can either manipulate him into implementing it or can freelance and get away with it.
We say this as prelude to the big news of the day, which involves Eduardo Flores-Ruiz. He is accused, by the state of Wisconsin, of domestic violence. He is accused, by the federal government, of being in the United States illegally and of having already been deported previously. And so, officials from the FBI and from ICE showed up to arrest Flores-Ruiz while he was being tried inMilwaukee County Circuit Court on the domestic violence charge. The feds explained themselves by saying that it is easier and safer to arrest people in court because they have already been screened for weapons.
The judge overseeing the case is Hannah Dugan. She did not take kindly to the presence of the federal officials in her courthouse, seeing it as an infringement on her authority. She also took the position that the feds are not really concerned about this one particular person, and were just looking to make a high-profile arrest. It is also the case that when one matter is being adjudicated (e.g., the domestic violence charge), other governmental entities tend to defer their claims. After all, if Flores-Ruiz is arrested in open court, or even if he's arrested outside the courtroom and his trial in Wisconsin is delayed, then the jury pool is tainted and you have a surefire mistrial.
Under these circumstances, Dugan decided to escort Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through a different door than the main door; the one that is used by jury members. Since it apparently did not occur to federal law enforcement officials that if you are staking out a building with multiple doors, you should probably watch—you know—all of them, they were unable to nab Flores-Ruiz. And so, a furious Kash Patel, director of the FBI, ordered that Dugan be arrested, which she was at 8:30 a.m. yesterday.
When it comes to "who is right" and "who is wrong" here, we presume readers can reach their own conclusions based on this recounting of the facts. Our view, for what it is worth, is that this is one of those gray-area situations that, really, form the basis for most court cases (cases that are black-and-white slam dunks tend to be resolved with a settlement or a plea bargain). Dugan has a point that it's her courtroom—and, by extension, her right to decide how people enter and exit. The feds have a point that they were exercising their authority legally, and that Dugan took steps to subvert them. Nobody's completely right here, and nobody's completely wrong, would be our take.
What we ARE sure of is that the Trump administration does not give two sh**s about Flores-Ruiz or about Dugan. This is absolutely political theater. Initially, it was political theater designed to show that the Trump administration is being "tough" on undocumented immigrants. Then, it evolved into an opportunity to perform some political theater designed to show judges that if they are going to defy the Trump administration, they better not step out of line in ANY way, no matter how trivial, or they are at risk of getting pinched. Dugan is not a federal judge, but the message is meant for the benefit of federal judges nonetheless.
And that's where the headline comes from. An independent judiciary is critical to holding leaders accountable, especially if the legislature has become the leader's puppet (see Enabling Act of 1933; 119th Congress). So, if a leader does not want to be accountable, then they have to silence the judges. You know, by doing things like arresting them if they get out of line.
While we are confident that is the thought process in the White House (and also at the J. Edgar Hoover Building), we also doubt it will work. There are many things that are true of the type of people who become federal judges, and among those are: (1) they know the law very well, and (2) they are not folks you can intimidate. So, if Donald Trump and Kash Patel think they can silence unfriendly judges (and they, even the Trump appointees, are pretty much ALL unfriendly these days), they are in for an unpleasant surprise. (Z)