Tag Archives: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

U.S. chief justice slams Schumer for ‘dangerous’ comment on justices in abortion case

By Jan Wolfe and Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday issued an unusual rebuke of “dangerous” comments by top U.S. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer about two conservative Supreme Court justices appointed by President Donald Trump and how they might rule in a major abortion case.

Schumer earlier on Wednesday assailed Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, saying they “won’t know what hit” them if they rule in favor of abortion restrictions.

“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said in a statement.

“All members of the court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter,” Roberts added.

Trump also condemned Schumer.

“This is a direct & dangerous threat to the U.S. Supreme Court by Schumer. If a Republican did this, he or she would be arrested, or impeached. Serious action MUST be taken NOW!” Trump said on Twitter.

Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s tweet.

Roberts in November 2018 criticized Trump after the president called a judge who ruled against one of his immigration policies an “Obama judge.”

Schumer’s remarks were made during an abortion rights rally held while the nine-member court heard arguments in an abortion case from Louisiana. Roberts could be the pivotal vote.

In his speech, Schumer noted that this was the Supreme Court’s first major abortion case since Trump appointed Kavanaugh in 2018 and Gorsuch in 2017. The crowd jeered when Schumer mentioned the two names.

Republican-led state legislatures are “waging a war on women,” Schumer said, by passing restrictive abortion laws.

“I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh – you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer told the cheering crowd.

Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman noted in a statement that Roberts did not comment when Trump last month turned his ire on liberal Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, calling for them to recuse themselves from any cases involving him or his administration.

“For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes,” Goodman said.

He added that Schumer was referring to the “political price” Republicans will pay for putting Kavanaugh and Gorsuch on the court and “warning that the justices will unleash (a) major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision.”

Democrats have criticized Trump’s frequent attacks on the U.S. judiciary and individual judges, including the one who presided over the trial of his longtime adviser Roger Stone.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham, Cynthia Osterman and Sonya Hepinstall)

New York witches aim hex at Supreme Court’s Brett Kavanaugh despite death threats

A self-proclaimed witch performs a hex on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh effigy at Catland Books in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., October 20, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

By Gabriella Borter

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Melissa Madara was not surprised to receive death threats on Friday as her Brooklyn witchcraft store prepared to host a public hexing of newly confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh this weekend.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh speaks during his ceremonial public swearing-in, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh speaks during his ceremonial public swearing-in, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

The planned casting of an anti-Kavanaugh spell, one of the more striking instances of politically disgruntled Americans turning to the supernatural when frustrated by democracy, has drawn backlash from some Christian groups but support from like-minded witch covens.

“It gives the people who are seeking agency a little bit of chance to have that back,” Madara said. The ritual was scheduled to be live-streamed on Facebook and Instagram at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday (1200 GMT Sunday).

Seated at a desk phone among bird skulls and crystal balls at Catland Books, the occult shop she co-owns, Madara said the Kavanaugh hex is expected to be the most popular event the store has hosted since its 2013 opening, including spells aimed at President Donald Trump. Madara declined to provide details of what the latest ritual will entail.

More than 15,000 people who have seen Catland Books promotions on Facebook have expressed interest in attending the event, vastly exceeding the shop’s 60-person capacity.

Not everyone is a witchcraft fan. Madara said she had fielded numerous irate calls from critics, with at least one threatening violence. “Every time we host something like this there’s always people who like to call in with death threats or read us scripture,” she said.

As far as supporters go, some are sexual assault survivors still angry that the U.S. Senate confirmed Kavanaugh’s lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court despite accusations that he had sexually assaulted multiple women.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, and an FBI investigation failed to corroborate his accusers’ accounts.

Democrats hope lingering outrage over Kavanaugh, particularly among women, will translate into election gains for them on Nov. 6. Republicans are likewise trying to seize on anger among conservatives at how they perceive Kavanaugh was mistreated.

Believers in mysticism on both sides of the political divide are taking matters into their own hands.

Plans for the Catland Books event have sparked “counter hexes” around the country by those seeking to undo the spell that the Brooklyn witches cast against Kavanaugh, Madara said.

Even mainstream clergy was joining the fray. Rev. Gary Thomas of the Diocese of San Jose in California said on Friday that he would include Kavanaugh in his prayers at Saturday mass.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Cynthia Osterman)