The 119th Congress has begun, and Republicans are poised to pass a series of conservative priorities in line with President-elect Trump’s agenda. Given the overwhelming number of caseloads facing the judiciary, and the subsequent inefficiency of our legal system, creating <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/publications/washingtonletter/december-24-wl/congress-add-judges-1224wl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new Federal Judgeships</a> should be lawmakers’ top priority. 
In 2023, the Judiciary <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2023/03/14/federal-judiciary-seeks-new-judgeship-positions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested</a> 66 new District Court Judgeships be created to assist with its burdensome caseload. Last month, Congress listened and passed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4199/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Judges Act of 2024</a>. This bill, which <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4199/all-actions?overview=closed#tabs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> with bipartisan support in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate, sought to remedy the judiciary’s issues by creating 66 new Federal District Court Judgeships to relieve overwhelmed and overworked jurists.
Unfortunately, President Biden <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/23/biden-vetoes-bill-federal-judge-slots-00195981" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vetoed</a> the much-needed Judges Act a few weeks ago, purportedly because of “hurried action” from the House regarding how judgeships are allocated and how senior-status judges and magistrates affect the need for new jurists. 
President Biden’s reasoning is inopportune. Congress conducted an <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4199/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extensive</a> investigation into the judiciary’s issues and allocated judgeships in a manner which does not benefit either party. Congress passed this bill in a bipartisan fashion for these reasons. President Biden likely vetoed this bill because he does not want his successor, President-elect Trump to fill those 66 new judgeships.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044249231000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15fpgzSqdekU8AKrqgMU6V">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
While Federal District Courts are expected to maintain a large and robust docket, they are currently overwhelmed with the amount of cases on their dockets. Federal District Courts had <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics-2024">347,991</a> civil cases filed in 2024, an increase of 22% from the prior year. Moreover, pending civil cases <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> by 8% — meaning these cases are stalled in the litigation process. Because there are only <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-senate-approves-bill-create-66-new-federal-judgeships-2024-08-01/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">677</a> Federal District Court judges in the United States, each District Judge has 1000 pending civil cases on their docket and 514 new civil cases filed in their court. This burdensome caseload is prolonging cases. On average it takes <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/judicial-business-united-states/judicial-business-2023/us-district-courts-judicial-business-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">8.7 months</a> to dispose of a civil case, and only <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">298,371</a> civil cases concluded in 2024 — a 12% decline from the prior year.
District Court judges don’t only hear civil cases. Their dockets also include criminal ones. Last year, 66,053 federal criminal cases were <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a>. Moreover, 113,511 federal criminal cases are currently pending before a federal court. This means on average a federal judge had 100 new criminal cases filed in their court and 167 criminal cases pending on their docket. Much like the civil cases, this burdensome caseload has also led to delays as terminations of criminal cases also <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/reports/statistical-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreased</a> by 2%. Judges believe these delays in civil and criminal cases <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2024/11/18/need-additional-judgeships-litigants-suffer-when-cases-linger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">erode faith</a> in the judiciary and harm litigants. Federal District Courts are overwhelmed and need help.
President Biden erred in vetoing the Judges Act. Federal District Courts are not political entities, but neutral forums where parties resolve disputes. In fact, Federal District Courts rarely delve into the political or cultural issues consistently heard by the Supreme Court. Rather, they mainly deal with tort cases, contract disputes, and procedural issues.
Further, Federal District Courts issue non-precedential decisions, meaning their decisions do not affect any other Courts. Such actions are consistent with the Supreme Court’s belief that the proper role of the Federal Judiciary is to “<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/5/137/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say what law is</a>.” By playing games with the District Courts, President Biden toys with the lives of litigants who are dealing with pressing civil and criminal legal issues. These issues must be solved sooner rather than later — as prolonged litigation can cost both parties thousands of dollars and, in some criminal cases, could mean life or death.
Unfortunately for President Biden, Republicans retained the House and regained the Senate. Hence, they can pass bills that align with President Trump’s agenda of fixing America. Congressional Republicans should prioritize passing the Judges Act as President-elect Trump’s administration would gain short and long-term wins if it passes. Not only would this be an easy short-term win as a bipartisan solution to a pressing problem facing our nation, it would grant President Trump future wins by empowering him to confirm more judges, something his conservative base loves. President Trump has a knack for confirming judges; in his first term, he <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> 174 Federal District Court Judges- roughly 26% of all active Federal District Court Judges. By creating more judgeships, Congress can empower President-elect Trump to reshape our lowest courts by appointing fair-minded jurists who can expeditiously and fairly resolve cases on their dockets. 
This would be a boon to the new administration, the Federal Judiciary, litigants, and the American people. A smart Republican Congress will pass this bill and empower President-elect Trump to resolve the judiciary’s peril while building his legacy.
* * *
Ryan Silverstein is a J.D. Candidate at Villanova University and a fellow with Villanova’s McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy. His work has appeared in Fox News, the New York Post, and RealClearPolitics.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Court house neoclassical building in Lower Manhattan

The Judges Act Would Be A Boon To Jurists, Litigants, And Trump’s Legacy

The Judges Act Would Be A Boon To Jurists, Litigants, And Trump's Legacy

Congress

Courts

Donald Trump

Federal Government

Judges

Judiciary

Presidency

U.S. House of Representatives

A brief trip back to my native Britain the other week was a depressing experience.
There has been widespread rioting in cities across England following the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-a-dozen-people-mostly-children-stabbed-by-17-year-old-male-in-u-k-multiple-fatalities-reported" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murder</a> of three young girls in Southport at a Taylor Swift dance class.
A large number of Brits, I think it is fair to say, are extremely <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-have-finally-had-enough-of-the-illegal-immigration-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agitated</a> about uncontrolled (often illegal) immigration. Tens of thousands of migrants have been allowed to flood into the country on small dinghies from France. 1 in 27 people now living in Britain arrived in the past two years. 4 in 10 foreign-born people in Britain have arrived in the past decade. 
There is a palpable sense that nothing in Britain runs the way it should, least of all the criminal justice system.
The number of <a href="https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/statistics-sexual-violence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recorded rapes</a> in England and Wales in 2023-24 was three times higher than in 2013-14. A recent investigation discovered that across much of the country, the police had not identified a single suspect for neighborhood crimes over the previous three years. Only a few weeks before the unrest erupted, the authorities announced that even violent offenders would be released from prison after serving a mere 40 percent of their sentences.
Then came the riots, and the authorities suddenly discovered that it is possible to arrest and prosecute criminals after all. Prosecutions that would normally take months to come to court were undertaken within a few days. That, plus the return of British rain, seems to have dampened the spirits of the troublemakers.
Instead of clamping down on immigration, or addressing some of the underlying concerns about Muslim integration (or lack thereof), the authorities seem to find it easier to clamp down on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-uks-orwellian-crackdown-on-free-speech-could-be-headed-our-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free speech</a>, prosecuting people for obnoxious opinions about either immigrants or Muslims expressed online.
The most senior official in charge of public prosecutions in Britain declared that he has a team of “dedicated police officers scouring social media” to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uk-police-chief-suggests-he-would-arrest-americans-for-highlighting-british-riots-online" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrest people</a> for posting things that are “insulting” or “abusive”. He even threatened to extradite people to the UK for sharing such material online.
All of this has helped contribute to the now widely held idea that Britain has a “two tier” criminal justice system.
Having cheerfully announced that they would be letting violent criminals out of prison after completing less than half their sentences a few weeks before, the authorities now threaten people with jail time for expressing idiotic views. In Cheshire, the police boasted of arresting a woman for what they called “an inaccurate social media post”.
In order to fully understand why Britain is in such a sorry state it is essential to appreciate what has gone wrong with the country’s judiciary.
Mass immigration has become an explosive issue in Britain because judges have routinely thwarted attempts by successive governments to control it. In 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019, Brits voted repeatedly to end mass immigration. It has not happened because judges have systematically prevented elected governments from controlling the country’s borders.
British judges only ever seem to rule in favor of those who enter the country illegally being able to remain, ruling on the basis of what they think the law should be, not the laws Parliament has passed. 
  
Britain, a once orderly, high-trust society has become increasingly lawless because judges have routinely failed to apply sentences that ordinary Brits would regard as just. It is so commonplace for violent robbers and rapists to be given community sentences, rather than go to prison, it is seldom even reported anymore.
Why are British judges so awful? Because they are unaccountable to the public.
In Britain, judges are appointed, not elected. Until 2006, at least the appointments were made by an elected minister, meaning there was a degree of democratic oversight. 
  
Since 2006, Britain’s judges have been appointed by the Judicial Appointments Commission, a body obsessed about diversity, equity and inclusion, rather than justice. Thanks to Human Rights law, judges are not merely unaccountable. They regard judicial activism as part of their job.
Liberty and order in Britain are collapsing as a consequence.
At some point, we must all hope a new Margaret Thatcher emerges in Britain, someone with the vision and principle to save the country from decline. On its current trajectory, Britain is drifting towards the abyss of a sectarian society.
In 2001, there were one and a half million Muslims in Britain. Today there are 4 million. If even a small percentage of British Muslims adhere to the Islamist teachings of Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian father of modern violent jihad, the country has a massive problem. Far from addressing the problem, right now Britain is a country that cannot even talk about the fact that it might have a problem.
Any new Thatcher must, as she did, address an underlying British economic malaise. Thanks to net zero energy policies, extraordinary restrictive regulations, high taxes and excessive public spending, the UK has had remarkably little per capita growth over the past decade.
But far more important than fixing the economy, Britain needs a state machinery capable of addressing issues of culture and cohesion. Old assumptions, and long established precedents governing citizenship, will need to change.
For that to happen, the next Thatcher needs to recognize that much of the machinery of the British state is dysfunctional. Reform is overdue.
Judges need to come under some sort of democratic oversight. Senior civil servants must no longer be afforded the luxury of deciding whether to implement policies that clash with their preferences. Those elected to Parliament, not unelected officials, need to be able to decide if the country can afford to cut taxes.
Britain can only be pulled back from the brink by a leader that recognizes that it is time to treat the judiciary and the administrative state as Thatcher once treated the trade unions.
* * *
Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. He was previously a Member of Parliament for 12 years and never lost an election.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>

TOPSHOT-BRITAIN-CRIME-POLICE-UNREST

Why Britain Is In A Mess And What To Do About It

England

Europe

Great Britain

Illegal Immigration

Islamic Jihad

Migrants

Opinion

Radical Islam

Readers Pass

Riots

Stabbing

United Kingdom

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kennedy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kennedy</a> (R-LA) grilled Judge Sarah Netburn during a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, asking her a series of questions about a trans-identifying male sex offender whom she had recommended be sent to a women&#8217;s prison.
Kennedy asked Netburn, who was nominated to be a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, about her recommendation — specifically why, despite a history that included raping a nine-year-old boy and a 17-year-old-girl, Netburn would recommend that such an individual be sent to a women&#8217;s prison.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Kennedy: &#8220;You&#8217;re really a political activist, aren&#8217;t you?&#8221;
Netburn: &#8220;I&#8217;m not, sir&#8221;
Kennedy: &#8220;Your record demonstrates otherwise.&#8221;
🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenJohnKennedy</a>
This judge belongs nowhere NEAR a courtroom. <a href="https://t.co/I4HEpuE0Aj">pic.twitter.com/I4HEpuE0Aj</a>
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1793644999470678023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Do you remember an inmate name William McClain?&#8221; Kennedy began, detailing the crimes to which McClain had pled guilty — the rape of a nine-year-old boy and the subsequent rape of a 17-year-old girl. After serving time and being released, McClain was arrested again for sending child pornography to another sex offender. Netburn, after a few false starts, appeared to acknowledge the accuracy of Kennedy&#8217;s assessment up to that point.
&#8220;And then he decided to transition,&#8221; Kennedy continued. &#8220;He became a female and started going by July Justine Shelby, is that right?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes.&#8221;
&#8220;And Ms. Shelby said, &#8216;I don&#8217;t want to go to a male prison. I want to go to a female prison,'&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;And the board of prisons said, &#8216;What planet did you parachute in from? You&#8217;re going to a male prison, with this kind of record.'&#8221;
Kennedy then asked Netburn how she came to the conclusion that Shelby should be allowed to serve time in a women&#8217;s prison.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;I issued a report and recommendation to the district judge,&#8221; Netburn said, claiming that medical needs would not be met properly in a male prison.
&#8220;What were you thinking in saying it&#8217;s &#8216;only hypothetical&#8217; that [Shelby] would reoffend?&#8221; Kennedy asked. &#8220;You&#8217;re really a political activist, aren&#8217;t you?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not, sir,&#8221; she objected.
&#8220;But your record demonstrates otherwise,&#8221; he replied.

Twitter Whistleblower Peiter Zatko Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee

Kennedy Grills Judicial Nominee: ‘You’re Really A Political Activist, Aren’t You?’

Kennedy Grills Judicial Nominee: 'You're Really A Political Activist, Aren't You?'

Gender Transition

Joe Biden

John Kennedy

Politics

Prison

Transgender

Law enforcement officials are working to keep justices on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Colorado</a> Supreme Court safe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-supreme-court-rules-trump-not-eligible-to-run-in-2024-removes-him-from-ballot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after a ruling</a> that kicked former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> off the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state&#8217;s</a> 2024 presidential primary ballot.
The Denver Police Department (DPD) and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> provided statements to the media about their efforts to investigate any threats to the justices and provide extra security following the 4-3 decision last week to disqualify Trump based on the view that he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-supreme-court-rules-trump-not-eligible-to-run-in-2024-removes-him-from-ballot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">engaged in an insurrection</a> on January 6, 2021.
&#8220;The Denver Police Department is currently investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and will continue working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate any reports of threats or harassment,&#8221; DPD <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/police-increase-security-colorado-supreme-court-justices-wake/story?id=105923471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told ABC News</a> on Tuesday.
&#8220;Due to the open investigations and safety and privacy considerations, we will not be providing details of these investigations,&#8221; DPD added. &#8220;The Department is providing extra patrols around justice&#8217;s residences in Denver and will provide additional safety support if/as requested.&#8221;
Despite saying they would not provide details on the investigations, police have provided information on one particular incident. Officers traveled to the home of one justice on Thursday evening in response to what police suspect was a &#8220;hoax report,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/26/trump-insurrection-colorado-justices-threat/64df6eaa-a41d-11ee-aacb-6f873a65763e_story.html">The Washington Post</a>.
The FBI <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/25/politics/colorado-supreme-court-threats-fbi-trump-ruling/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN</a> on Monday the agency is &#8220;aware of the situation&#8221; and working with law enforcement at the local level. “We will vigorously pursue investigations of any threat or use of violence committed by someone who uses extremist views to justify their actions regardless of motivation,&#8221; the FBI added.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1703684399691000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0m2xSiGF1JK_f4B43pJkSz">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The Colorado Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling, placed on hold until January 4, <a href="https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Opinions/2023/23SA300.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;subject to any further appellate proceedings,&#8221;</a> hinges on <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>, which is widely viewed as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1200130870/14th-amendment-disqualify-trump-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being designed to block</a> former officials from returning to public office after the Civil War if they joined the Confederacy.
Trump&#8217;s campaign vowed to <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianKarem/status/1737265233822154769" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;swiftly file an appeal&#8221;</a> to the U.S. Supreme Court as well as a concurrent request for a stay of the decision. And on his Truth Social account, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-co-supreme-court-ruling-banning-him-from-ballot-banana-republic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decried</a> &#8220;ELECTION INTERFERENCE!&#8221; while also calling for other legal matters he faces to be dropped.

Colorado Supreme Court Ruling Bans Trump From State’s Ballot

Cops Investigating ‘Incidents Directed At’ Colorado Justices After Trump Ballot Ruling

Cops Investigating 'Incidents Directed At' Colorado Justices After Trump Ballot Ruling

2024 Election

Colorado

Law Enforcement

Police

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> unveiled a formal ethics code this week amid <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/key-allegations-against-clarence-thomas-democrats-call-probe-1819296">scrutiny</a> from the media and Congress over concerns that the justices have failed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/longtime-thomas-friend-hits-back-at-democratic-probe-into-financial-records" target="_blank" rel="noopener">properly disclose gifts</a> and did not recuse themselves in cases in which they might have a conflict of interest.
A <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">15-page document</a>, featuring a statement at the top and a &#8220;Code of Conduct&#8221; below, was <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_11-13-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to the high court&#8217;s website on Monday. All nine members, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, signed off on adhering to the five &#8220;canon&#8221; rules.
The five canons, many of which included subsections, said a justice &#8220;should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary,&#8221; &#8220;should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities,&#8221; &#8220;should perform the duties of office fairly, impartially, and diligently,&#8221; &#8220;may engage in extrajudicial activities that are consistent with the obligations of the judicial office,&#8221; and &#8220;should refrain from political activity.&#8221;
A &#8220;statement of the Court&#8221; offered a brief explanation for drawing out an ethics code without getting into specific media reports on ethical questions and a lack of transparency that have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-cites-safety-concerns-for-private-jet-travel-after-dobbs-leak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dogged conservative</a> justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, as well as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/04/politics/sonia-sotomayor-neil-gorsuch-book-recusal-supreme-court-cases/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">liberal Justice</a> Sonia Sotomayor in recent months while fueling an <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/releases/durbin-announces-judiciary-committee-will-no-longer-vote-to-authorize-subpoena-for-robin-arkley-following-cooperation-in-supreme-court-ethics-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation led by the Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee</a>.
&#8220;The undersigned Justices are promulgating this Code of Conduct to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the Members of the Court,&#8221; the statement said.
&#8220;For the most part these rules and principles are not new: The Court has long had the equivalent of common law ethics rules, that is, a body of rules derived from a variety of sources, including statutory provisions, the code that applies to other members of the federal judiciary, ethics advisory opinions issued by the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct, and historic practice,&#8221; the statement added.
&#8220;The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.&#8221;

Supreme Court

Supreme Court Reveals Ethics Code For Justices

Clarence Thomas

Ethics

John Roberts

Samuel Alito

Sonia Sotomayor

Soviet-born Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-rep-spartz-who-emigrated-from-ukraine-takes-implicit-shot-at-biden-ive-been-to-the-southern-border-three-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victoria Spartz</a> (R-IN) laid into Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/garland-testifies-he-cant-recollect-contact-with-fbi-hq-about-hunter-biden-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merrick Garland</a> during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill, saying American citizens were living in fear that their own Justice Department might target them for prosecution.
Spartz — who was born in Ukraine while it was still under Soviet control — referenced her upbringing and pressed Garland on what she believed was his role in creating a similar political climate in the United States.
&#8220;As someone who grew up in the Soviet Union, I’m disturbed by the fact that so many hardworking Americans—including my constituents—are afraid of political persecution by our own government,&#8221; Spartz captioned her video of the exchange on X. &#8220;Unfortunately, it does not seem like AG Garland is.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
As someone who grew up in the Soviet Union, I’m disturbed by the fact that so many hardworking Americans—including my constituents—are afraid of political persecution by our own government.
Unfortunately, it does not seem like AG Garland is.
Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JudiciaryGOP</a> 👇 <a href="https://t.co/L0QprNW6uK">pic.twitter.com/L0QprNW6uK</a>
&mdash; Rep. Victoria Spartz (@RepSpartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSpartz/status/1704606198018818291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Spartz began by acknowledging Garland&#8217;s personal history – his family fleeing to the United States from Belarus for a life free of persecution – and then pivoted to her own.
&#8220;I grew up in a very similar country, Ukraine now,&#8221; Spartz said. &#8220;And when I came here as a young person, I believed in the value as an American not to be afraid of my government.&#8221;
&#8220;But I wanted to tell you and I wanted to share with you and get your thoughts on that,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Are you aware that a lot of Americans are now afraid of being prosecuted by your department? Are you aware about that? Are you aware of that? I&#8217;m just saying are you aware or not?&#8221;
Garland paused, cleared his throat, and then immediately placed the blame on anyone who questioned or criticized the Justice Department. He said, &#8220;I think that constant attacks on the Department and saying —&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
&#8220;It&#8217;s not attacks,&#8221; Spartz pushed back. &#8220;Let me give you an example, you talk about January 6th people, some people came on January 6th &#8230; there were some people that came on January 6th here, you know, that had bad intent. But a lot of good Americans from my district came here because they are sick and tired of this government not serving them. They came with strollers and the kids, and there was a chaotic situation because the proper security wasn&#8217;t provided.&#8221;
Spartz went on to say that the FBI had then hunted down people who had simply been there with their kids, prompting fears that they were going to be the ones on the hook.
&#8220;You are in charge of the department,&#8221; Spartz addressed Garland directly, noting that investigations into former President Donald Trump had moved very quickly while investigations into President Joe Biden&#8217;s family and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had moved very slowly.
&#8220;All of your agents need to be tested for amnesia, no one recalls anything,&#8221; she said, comparing the U.S. Justice Department to the Soviet KGB. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t believe it happened in the United States of America.&#8221;

Attorney General Garland Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Soviet-Born Congresswoman Torches Garland: Americans Are ‘Afraid Of Being Prosecuted By Your’ DOJ

Soviet-Born Congresswoman Torches Garland: Americans Are 'Afraid Of Being Prosecuted By Your' DOJ

Department of Justice

Merrick Garland

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/all-of-this-was-false-josh-hawley-rips-into-ag-garland-over-senate-testimony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Hawley</a> (R-MO) grilled public defender Richard Federico during a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressing him on a prior trial in which he&#8217;d asked for a light sentence in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-ex-mayor-pleads-guilty-to-140-counts-of-child-porn-facing-decades-behind-bars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">child pornography</a> case.
Biden nominated Federico, a U.S. Navy Reserve officer and federal public defender based in Kansas, to serve on Denver&#8217;s 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — but Hawley had some questions about his record.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A Biden judicial nominee is seeking a lifetime appointment to the bench but can’t answer why he was way more lenient than the federal government in sentencing a man guilty of child porn distribution.
“Do you think that that’s a sentence that does justice to his victims?” <a href="https://t.co/wI12YY13pE">pic.twitter.com/wI12YY13pE</a>
&mdash; Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenHawleyPress/status/1699454067846623739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Hawley began by laying out the details of the case he was referring to, noting that the sentencing guidelines recommended up to 240 months — or 20 years — in prison. The recommended range, he said, was from 210 months to 240 — but Federico had asked for just 105 months.
&#8220;Now, the government in this case said that it was being very lenient,&#8221; Hawley added, noting that prosecutors had called for 189 months and suggesting that they could have started with a much higher number given the type of crime involved. The Missouri Senator opted not to go into detail about the nature of the case, saying that it was too reprehensible to discuss.
Federico pushed back, saying that he had prosecuted as many child pornography cases as he had defended and, therefore, understood what the victims were going through.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
&#8220;So what would you say to the victims in this case, who — let&#8217;s just review — and I&#8217;m not going to read the specifics because it&#8217;s too revolting, but let me just — here — this is from the pre-sentence report,&#8221; Hawley continued.
&#8220;&#8216;This particular defendant&#8217; — this is sanitized, but it&#8217;s still unpleasant — &#8216;the defendant used multiple mediums to access, obtain, and distribute depictions of child rape, bondage, and sexual exploitation,'&#8221; Hawley read. &#8220;&#8216;He used dating websites to meet people offering children for sex. He used email to send depictions of child sexual exploitation to his cohorts.'&#8221;
&#8220;Why 100 months?&#8221; Hawley asked. &#8220;I mean, listen, you could have recommended any number of — I get you wanted to defend your client, sure, but you could have chosen 175. You could have agreed with government, 189, which was characterized already below guidelines and quite lenient.&#8221;
Noting once again that Federico had recommended only 105 months — less than 10 years — Hawley asked, &#8220;Do you think that that’s a sentence that does justice to his victims?&#8221;

Senate Moves Ahead With Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination

Josh Hawley Grills Biden Judicial Nominee For Going Soft On Client Convicted In Child Porn Case

Child pornography

Executive

Josh Hawley

Judge

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/clarence-thomas">Clarence Thomas</a> reported taking private jet flights in the spring of last year because of security concerns that followed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leak-of-scotus-draft-on-roe-v-wade-stuns-nation-this-leak-is-the-gravest-most-unforgivable-sin">leak of a Dobbs draft opinion</a>.
The information appears in a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23932793-clarence-thomas-2022-financial-disclosure">financial disclosure</a> for calendar year 2022 that was released on Thursday. It describes the rationale for the method of travel to Dallas in May of that year and states that the trip was paid for by Republican donor Harlan Crow, a longtime friend to Thomas.
&#8220;Because of the increased security risk following the Dobbs opinion leak,&#8221; the report said, &#8220;the May flights were by private plane for official travel as filer’s security detail recommended noncommercial travel whenever possible.&#8221;
The report said the purpose of the reimbursement, which included meals as well as transportation, was for Thomas being a keynote speaker at the American Enterprise Institute&#8217;s Conference at Old Parkland. Also revealed were other trips paid for by Crow in 2022. The report additionally offers details about financial and real estate matters dating back several years to clear up what it said were prior omissions attributed to mistakes or to offer extra information outside a covered period on issues that have <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus">garnered attention in the media</a>.
POLITICO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leak-of-scotus-draft-on-roe-v-wade-stuns-nation-this-leak-is-the-gravest-most-unforgivable-sin">obtained and published</a> a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito in May 2022 indicating Roe v. Wade would be overturned. More than a month later, on June 24, the Supreme Court released Alito’s majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and Planned Parenthood v. Casey cases, which overturned the 1973 Roe decision and returned the issue of abortion to the states.
In delivering remarks at the Heritage Foundation in October, Alito said the leak &#8220;made those of us who were thought to be in the majority in support of overruling Roe and Casey targets for assassination, because it gave people a rational reason to think they could prevent that from happening by killing one of us.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693504018745000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1RMMjCvCBOBYdpkw5O_njE">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Indeed, a man was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-id-armed-man-who-said-he-wanted-to-kill-supreme-court-justice-kavanaugh-report">arrested in June of 2022 and charged</a> with allegedly attempting to murder fellow conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. And GOP lawmakers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-senators-confront-garland-on-protesters-outside-homes-of-supreme-court-justices">pressed</a> Attorney General Merrick Garland on enforcing a federal law against protests outside Supreme Court justices’ homes.
Chief Justice John Roberts tasked the Supreme Court’s marshal, Gail Curley, with investigating the leak. The inquiry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-supreme-court-releases-final-report-from-investigation-into-who-leaked-dobbs-draft">culminated in a report</a> in January that failed to identify who was responsible.
Thomas and <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/668317219/Alito-2022-Financial-Disclosure">Alito</a> released their 2022 financial disclosure reports on Thursday after receiving 90-day extensions. They have faced <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/key-allegations-against-clarence-thomas-democrats-call-probe-1819296">growing scrutiny</a> from congressional Democrats over concerns that the justices had failed to properly disclose gifts and paid-for trips, spurred by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183456911/justice-alito-propublica-singer">reports from ProPublica</a>. The filings come after the Judicial Conference <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/new-gift-disclosure-rules-extend-to-us-supreme-court-justices">issued a new guidance in March</a> that reinforced personal hospitality disclosure rules.
A statement delivered to reporters by Elliot Berke, an attorney who assisted Thomas, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-31/justice-clarence-thomas-discloses-trips-paid-for-by-gop-donor">said</a> the new disclosure report &#8220;answers — and utterly refutes — the charges trumped up in this partisan feeding frenzy.&#8221;

Clarence Thomas Cites Safety Concerns For Private Jet Travel After Dobbs Leak

Abortion

Dobbs

House Judiciary Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jim-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Jordan</a> announced in a Thursday letter an inquiry into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her investigation into former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> and the 2020 election. 
Jordan’s letter to Willis comes as Trump is set to arrive at a Fulton County jail on Thursday evening where he will get fingerprinted and possibly have his mugshot taken. Trump is facing 13 charges, including allegations of racketeering, for his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election in Georgia.
“Your indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated,” Jordan <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-08-24-jdj-to-da-willis-re-trump-investigation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
&#8220;Turning first to the question of motivation, it is noteworthy that just four days before this indictment, you launched a new campaign fundraising website that highlighted your investigation into President Trump. Additionally, the forewoman of the special grand jury you convened to investigate President Trump earlier this year bragged during an unusual media tour about her excitement at the prospect of subpoenaing President Trump and getting to swear him in,” the letter said.
Jordan was referring to statements from grand jury foreman Emily Kohrs, who made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-deranged-sounding-georgia-grand-jury-foreman-throws-election-case-against-trump-into-legal-jeopardy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments on CNN</a> that some legal experts said would complicate the case against Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Foreman for Trump&#39;s Georgia Grand Jury is a piece of work… <a href="https://t.co/srF85GtyU2">pic.twitter.com/srF85GtyU2</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1628414645500534784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jordan also wants to know if there was any coordination with special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought indictments against Trump in Washington, D.C., and in Florida.
“There are questions about whether and how your office coordinate with DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith during the course of this investigation, and Congress has an interest in any such activity that involves federal law enforcement agencies, and officials that fall under its oversight,” the letter said.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Trump is charged in the Georgia case along with 18 other co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell, who have all turned themselves in for processing.
Eastman, a constitutional law expert and former legal adviser to Trump, warned on Tuesday that the case “will have — and is already having — profound consequences for our system of justice.”
“I am here today to surrender to an indictment that should never have been brought,” Eastman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-attorney-behind-2020-eastman-memo-gives-constitutional-smackdown-after-turning-himself-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the press</a> after surrendering on Tuesday. “It represents a crossing of the Rubicon for our country, implicating the fundamental First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances.”
Willis has requested that the trial against Trump begin as soon as October 23.

House Oversight Committee Hears Testimony From IRS Whistleblower Gary Shapley

Jim Jordan Presses Fulton County DA Over Motives Behind Trump Georgia Prosecution

2020 Election

Georgia

Jack Smith

Jim Jordan

The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, approved an amendment to the country’s Basic Law on Monday, standing staunchly against the Israeli Left, which has exploded in anger at seeing its control over the political arena erode.
The 64-0 vote, with all members of the right-wing bloc voting for the amendment and all members of the opposition boycotting the vote, was to curb the nation’s “reasonableness standard.” That standard enabled judges in Israel to apply a “reasonableness standard” to block decisions by elected officials that they believe are beyond the scope of what a responsible and reasonable authority would do.
The standard thereby gave the justices a de facto veto on most if not all government policies. The Israeli Supreme Court has always been dominated by leftists, and unlike the United States and other Western countries, enables justices on the court to pick their successors, thus giving the Left permanent control of the judiciary and thus control over government decisions.
The Left has somehow twisted its loss of control as a threat to democracy and launched protests around the country.
“We started by correcting the cause of reasonableness, as part of the important reform to correct the entire judicial system,” Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir stated, according to <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/373960">Israel National News</a>. “The time has come to return the power to the public and stop the rule of the junta. Correcting the cause of reasonableness is an extremely important step, but we must pass the entire reform. Changing the Judicial Selection Committee, the cancellation of the Override Clause, changing the powers of the Attorney General. Bringing democracy back to Israel.&#8221;
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich added, “64 supporters against 56 opponents to the reduction of the cause of reasonableness. Tonight, democracy won.”
Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer agreed, saying, “Tonight, we passed an important amendment to the cause of reasonableness in the first reading. An amendment that will allow the government ministers to implement the policy for which we were elected. I congratulate Minister Yariv Levin and the chairman of the Constitution Committee, Simcha Rothman, and call on the members of the opposition to behave responsibly and heed the call of the Minister of Justice to negotiate for the benefit of the State of Israel.”
The opposition hurled criticism at the amendment; Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid called the right-wing government, “thieves in the night,” threatening, “Millions of Israelis will take to the streets tomorrow.”
Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Liberman echoed that the amended law poses “serious damage to democracy.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I am not the biggest Bibi fan. 
But can we just stop and honor a man who is so freaking driven in his service to Israel that he had heart surgery and then put on a suit, got in a car, and is now running negotiations like a super-boss from his Knesset seat like he just woke up… <a href="https://t.co/CrZS4leWoQ">pic.twitter.com/CrZS4leWoQ</a>
&mdash; Malkah Fleisher 🕎 (@MalkahFleisher) <a href="https://twitter.com/MalkahFleisher/status/1683452988159930368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Israeli parliament approves controversial bill limiting âreasonableness standardâ

Israel Passes Judicial Reform In Face Of Mass Left-Wing Protests

Benjamin Netanyahu

Democracy

Israel

Protests

Ray Epps, the alleged January 6 provocateur who has avoided arrest by the feds, was at the center of a fiery exchange Wednesday between a Republican congressman and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) grilled Wray during an oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, asking him point blank if the FBI would arrest Epps.
Nehls mentioned two other January 6 defendants, whom he said were arrested for breaching Capitol grounds, as well as a defendant who was arrested for &#8220;disorderly and destructive conduct&#8221; which included yelling &#8220;Go, go, go!&#8221; as rioters tried to enter the Capitol.
&#8220;These three never went into the Capitol. They never assaulted anyone,&#8221; Nehls said, adding that there is &#8220;very little difference&#8221; between the actions of Ray Epps and those defendants.
&#8220;Now look into the camera, sir, when you answer my next question,&#8221; Nehls said. &#8220;Are you going to arrest Mr. Epps, yes or no?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rep. Nehls asks FBI Director Wray if he will arrest Ray Epps, and says:
&quot;If you don&#39;t arrest Mr. Epps, there&#39;s a reason behind it. I believe you know what it is, and it appears to me you are protecting this guy. I strongly recommend you get your house back in order.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/NSPDLlKYKW">pic.twitter.com/NSPDLlKYKW</a>
&mdash; The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1679215119300001792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to engage here in a discussion about individual people who are or are not going to be prosecuted,&#8221; Wray responded.
&#8220;Can I get a commitment?&#8221; an exasperated Nehls asked. &#8220;I&#8217;m an old law dog. I understand a little bit about probable cause.&#8221;
&#8220;You can see him. I almost think he&#8217;s inciting a riot,&#8221; Nehls continued, noting that many people have questioned whether Epps has a connection to the feds.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of cloud over this,&#8221; the congressman said.
&#8220;My point is this,&#8221; Nehls said. &#8220;You arrested a lot of folks for unlawful activity. You just saw the video, and I will tell you, Mr. Wray, if you don&#8217;t arrest Mr. Epps, there&#8217;s a reason behind it, I believe you know what it is, and it appears to me you are protecting this guy. I strongly recommend you get your house back in order.&#8221;
Epps was a central figure in the Capitol riot from the beginning.
The 62-year-old Marine veteran from Arizona is seen in multiple video clips from January 6 and the day before trying to whip up other <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a> supporters to “go into the Capitol” the next day.
“I’ll say it. We need to go into the Capitol,” Epps says in one clip.
The crowd of Trump supporters then starts chanting, “Fed! Fed! Fed!” at Epps.
At least four times on video, Epps repeats his call to action to &#8220;go into the Capitol.&#8221;
Then, while the vast majority of MAGA supporters were still near the National Mall where Trump was speaking, Epps is seen at the front of the very first crowd that breached the security perimeter around the Capitol. Moments before the crowd pushes past Capitol police officers, Epps whispers something into fellow protester Ryan Samsel’s ear. Later in January, Epps and Samsel both told the FBI separately that Epps had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/us/jan-6-ray-epps-evidence.html">encouraging</a> Samsel to relax because the cops were just “doing their job.”
Epps also texted his nephew that he “orchestrated” the riot.
“I was in the front with a few others, I also orchestrated it,” the text from Epps <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEEGxQKg20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reads</a>.
Epps was initially on the FBI’s wanted list for January 6, but he was suddenly dropped, fueling conspiracies that he might be protected by the feds. Thousands of others who behaved much less provocatively remained on the list, including at least <a href="https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/boise-woman-sentenced-for-role-in-us-capitol-riot-pamela-hemphill-january-6-2021/277-3aa12194-5a54-4abe-88a2-d644cf5043aa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two</a> <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/23/anna-morgan-lloyd-indiana-grandmother-sentenced-ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grandmas</a> who were sentenced.
No charges were ever filed against Epps for his role in the riot.
Last month, 60 Minutes did a fawning <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHEEGxQKg20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Epps. The New York Times did a glowing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/us/politics/jan-6-conspiracy-theory-ray-epps.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profile</a> of him in July.

FBI Director Wray Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Congressman Challenges FBI Director On Whether He’ll Arrest Ray Epps: ‘You Are Protecting This Guy’

Congressman Challenges FBI Director On Whether He'll Arrest Ray Epps: 'You Are Protecting This Guy'

Capitol Riot

Christopher Wray

January 6

Ray Epps

Israel’s democratically elected legislature, the Knesset, is in the midst of voting on a series of laws that would scale back the power of the unelected judiciary and place more power in the elected body. Tens of thousands of Israelis along with Israel’s usual detractors are up in arms, calling this &#8220;tyranny&#8221; and the “end of democracy.”
To start, those who continue to push the “end of democracy” narrative are objectively counterfactual, counterproductive, and over-reactionary. When a democratically elected body makes efforts to wrangle back power from those appointed by a committee controlled by the Bar Association and the judiciary itself, it is, in fact, putting more “power” into the hands of the “people.” In simple terms, making the political system more “democratic.”
Democratic governments around the world take many different forms, from constitutional republics, like the United States, to parliamentary systems, like the United Kingdom, and many variations there between. Israel is just shy of 75 years young, and is still in the nascent stages of forming what its democracy will look like. For instance, while its founders set out to form a constitution, none has yet been put in place. The entire process the democratically-elected government is going through is at the very core of democracy.
While it’s hard to see it through the hysterics, Israel’s proposed judicial reforms are, in fact, imperfect in their current state. However, this is the case when most laws are initially proposed. This is why there is a process, in most (or all) democracies in the world, Israel included, that allows for debate, input, discussion, and ultimately amendments. Those opposing the judicial reforms would be better served by pushing for constructive dialogue rather than destructive protests. Calls for the Knesset to change direction simply because of the nightly protests should fall on deaf ears, as a well-functioning government should never cave to what would essentially be mob rule.
Taking a quick step back, the proposed judicial reforms aim to accomplish five things: (1) Changing the process of selecting judges, so as to give the governing coalition of the Knesset a majority in the judicial selection committee; (2) Prohibiting the Supreme Court from making decisions based “on reasonability” rather than on laws passed by the Knesset; (3) Changing legal opinions of general counsels of government departments, appointed by the attorney general, from binding to advisory; (4) Raising the standard for the Supreme Court to strike down a law passed by the Knesset to 11 out of the 15 judges; and (5) Providing the Knesset the capacity to override a decision by the Supreme Court that strikes down a law passed by the Knesset with a majority of the Knesset members. Of course, the proposals are more nuanced than the above-outlined, but these are the general strokes of the proposals.
That judicial reforms are needed is the broad consensus view. The self-elected judiciary has become hyper-political, if not hostile, to the government, to the ultra-Orthodox, and to the conservative majority. The Supreme Court has also unilaterally expanded its own power by granting itself powers of judicial review and making key decisions based on its subjective interpretation of “reasonability,” and general, undefined concepts of dignity and liberty. The impact of the Supreme Court’s rulings is even more far reaching, given that the Israeli Supreme Court is a Court of first instance, in that almost anyone can file claims directly with the Court on a host of issues. At bottom, an unelected branch of government has run amok and the Knesset is looking to rein it in through these reforms.
The only truly controversial or delicate provision in the proposed reforms, in my opinion, is the “override clause.” The fact that the Knesset is seeking to include an override clause is not a problem per se. Given the past relationship between the branches, and the importance given by the elected body to ensuring that those elected by the people have final say on critical issues, the ability to override the Court’s decision makes sense. Israel would not be alone in implementing an express “override clause.” Canada, a country which no one would seriously charge as “non-democratic,” has a similar law, which permits the Parliament to pass a law “notwithstanding” their Court’s having found that law to be unconstitutional.
Still, for purposes of political stability, which is critical for the social and economic well-being of any nation, the issues which should qualify for override should be very limited and an override should only pass with a supermajority of the Knesset. These limitations would all but guarantee that the override would only be used sparingly and could not be abused by any party to satisfy the political whims of the day.
Finally, the governing coalition should learn from the mistakes of the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate in 2013, when they removed the 60-vote filibuster for the president&#8217;s nominees, requiring only a simple majority instead. This was a shrewd move in the short term to get President Obama’s nominees seated, but when control of the Senate shifted back to the Republicans, Democrats quickly regretted that the Republicans could pass through the president&#8217;s nominees without the support of a single Democrat.
In Israel today, it is hard to see when and how the political Left could return to power. But, politics lives on a pendulum, and when (not if) political control inevitably shifts in Israel, those in control of the Knesset today will regret having a law in place which requires only a simple majority to override the Supreme Court.
At the end, the Likud party and its coalition partners should not make any decisions based on the hysterical protests and threats of its detractors. Still, the government shouldn’t rush through the reforms without robust and honest debate about its impact. Particular care should be taken to limit the override clause so as to protect the integrity of the Supreme Court while providing the supermajority of the Knesset the ability to have final say on critical issues that go to the heart of the Jewish and Democratic State of Israel.
Gabriel Groisman is a partner at LSN Partners in Miami, Florida, a Jewish rights leader and the former mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Protests Continue Over Proposed Judicial Overhaul In Israel

Israel Is Reforming Its Judiciary. It’s Not Perfect, It’s Democracy. 

Middle East

World

Menu