Pissed Off GOP Judge goes Berserk on Trump in Open Court

Summary

Legal AF by MeidasTouch — “Pissed Off GOP Judge goes Berserk on Trump in Open Court”

Release Date: February 17, 2026
Hosts: Michael Popok (primary speaker), with contributions from Ben Meiselas, Karen Friedman Agnifilo
Guests/Sources: Governor Josh Shapiro (clip interview), Judge Michael Luttig (clip)

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Episode Overview

This hard-hitting episode of Legal AF focuses on a dramatic and unprecedented court rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to erase references to slavery at the historic President’s House in Philadelphia. Host Michael Popok, a seasoned legal analyst, walks listeners through a landmark ruling by Judge Ruth (“Roof”) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which issued a scathing order restoring commemorative plaques profiling George Washington’s enslaved people that the Trump administration secretly removed. The episode goes beyond legal technicalities, critiquing the White House’s “Orwellian” moves, the divided state of American jurisprudence, and the vital importance of judicial courage in an era of historical revisionism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: Trump-Era Historical Revisionism

• The Trump administration ordered the removal of plaques and exhibits at the President’s House site—Philadelphia’s memorial to George Washington and John Adams, as well as the nine enslaved people forced to serve them ([02:31–06:02]).
• Popok contextualizes this as part of a larger campaign by Trump to rebrand sites connected to US slavery, downplaying or obscuring this history, and restoring Confederate markers on military bases.

2. Federal Judge’s Ruling: History vs. Power

• Judge Roof issued a preliminary injunction: ordering all removed exhibits to be reinstalled and blocking further alterations without the city's consent.
• The judge opened her opinion with George Orwell’s “1984”:

  “All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary... Impossible, once the deed was done, to prove any falsification had taken place.” — Judge Roof quoting Orwell ([06:39])

• The ruling directly calls out the Trump administration for acting like Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth,” seeking to overwrite historical record for political purposes.

3. Calling Out “Both-Sides-ism” On Slavery

• In court, the DOJ attorney argued for the government’s right to determine “the message it wants to convey,” essentially justifying omitting references to slavery if desired ([09:30–10:10]).
• Popok is aghast, paraphrasing:

  “We’re both-sidesing slavery. What’s next? Both-sidesing the Holocaust?” ([10:11])

4. Details of the Order

• Judge Roof’s command:

  “The defendants shall reinstall all panels, displays and video exhibits that were in place. They shall prevent any additions, removals, or destruction or further changes to the President’s house except in a mutual written agreement…” ([11:15])

• The judge names each of the nine enslaved people: Oney Judge (maid), Austin (Oney’s brother), Christopher Shields (butler), Giles (carriage driver), Hercules Posey (chef), Joe Richardson (coachman), Moll (nanny), Paris (stable worker), Richmond (chimney sweep)—insisting that their stories remain central to public history.

5. Broader Trend: Federal Judges Assert Authority Against Trump

• Popok argues that after a period of deference and apprehension, federal judges are “getting their groove back,” increasingly willing to hold executive branch officials in contempt for lawless conduct ([12:17–14:31]).
• He references earlier criminal contempt moves (e.g., Judge Boasberg in DC against Kristi Noem) as precursors.

6. Perspectives from Guests

• Governor Josh Shapiro interview clip ([11:36–12:17]):

  “We need people standing up every single day, not being afraid to speak up, standing up and fighting for what’s right... Sometimes it’s in a court of law, as I do, and sometimes it needs to be people who are peacefully protesting.”

• Judge Michael Luttig interview clip ([15:22–17:49]):
  • Luttig underscores how a national shift in public opinion emboldened the federal judiciary:

    “Frankly, every American is against Donald Trump today except his die in the wool MAGA and of course, the Congress...” ([15:22])

    • He explains:

    “Federal judges began to push back ... Now, when... they’re going to do this for the next three years, those same federal judges ... they’re not going to have it.” ([17:09])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Judge Roof’s Opening: ([06:39])

  “All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary … George Orwell, 1984.”

• On the government’s defense of removing slavery references: ([10:11])

  “We’re both-sidesing slavery. What’s next? Both-sidesing the Holocaust?” — Michael Popok

• Judge Roof on arbitrariness of government historical messaging: ([10:37])

  “An agency cannot arbitrarily decide what is true based on its own whims and the whims of new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it.”

• Josh Shapiro on civic courage: ([11:54])

  “Sometimes it’s in a court of law, as I do, and sometimes it needs to be people who are peacefully protesting and standing up to this administration… I just want to celebrate the people who do stand up for the rule of law every day.”

• Judge Luttig on judicial courage: ([15:36])

  “Whatever cliché, you want to stiffen their spines, but actually, more appropriately, it gave them the courage ... to do what they knew they had to do.”

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:31] Start of main content, Popok introduces Judge Roof’s order and Trump’s efforts to erase slavery from the President’s House exhibits
• [06:02] TV news clip: details on plaque removal, local outrage
• [06:39] Judge Roof’s ruling excerpts (invoking George Orwell)
• [10:11] DOJ lawyer: ‘government gets to choose the message’, Popok’s response on both-sidesing slavery
• [11:15] The preliminary injunction: restoration of panels and restrictions on further changes
• [11:36] Josh Shapiro on civic action and protest
• [12:17] Popok discusses increased judicial willingness to hold Trump administration in contempt
• [15:22] Judge Luttig on the changing mood in federal judiciary

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Tone & Style

The episode is fiery, urgent, and rooted in legal expertise—Michael Popok is clearly enraged by the ongoing assault on historical truth and conveys skepticism, sarcasm, and disbelief at governmental justifications. There’s a strong emphasis on the vital importance of independent courts as bulwarks against executive overreach. The tone is unapologetically critical of Trump, while honoring judges and civic leaders taking a stand.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode is a must-hear for anyone following the struggle between law, history, and authoritarian power. It digs deep into how a single federal judge stood up to an executive branch intent on erasing inconvenient truths, lambasting the White House’s Orwellian moves and predictable legal arguments. With stirring guest commentary, granular explanation of the legal order, and a broader look at the slowly reawakening American judiciary, Legal AF provides both context and outrage over the attempted rewriting of the nation’s painful past.

Transcript

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[e-mail] federal judge in Philadelphia is dismantling Donald Trump's Ministry of Truth, his Orwellian attempt to rewrite history, to erase slavery and the stain of slavery from our public consciousness, to literally rip down with bare hands plaques on the President's house in Independence Hall Memorial in Philadelphia commemorating the nine slave owned by George Washington because Donald Trump finds it distasteful. And Judge Roof is showing what federal judges in year two of this administration, now robust, now with courage, now willing to take on the Trump administration in a way they were to a year ago. What they're doing about it. They're quoting George Orwell. They're telling the world that Donald Trump is not able to erase facts and history that are meaningful to the American people or otherwise. As Donald Trump is busy trying to put back up Confederate generals as statues and put their names back on military bases. I mean, the fact that he. I'm going to show the clip in a minute. The fact that he sent a couple of National Park Service lackeys to go with their bare hands and rip down these plaques from the President's house, which commemorates the location where President Adams and President Washington resided in the cradle of our democracy, Democracy Philadelphia, where I've been since I was a child, which I frequent and I've been to, to Independence hall, the reproduction of where the Bill of Rights, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed. To the Liberty Bell exhibit, which is next to this President's house. To the Betsy Ross memorial about the person who allegedly mythically created the flag. Donald Trump has no respect for anything that has to do with our history. He allowed the Capitol, another cradle of our democracy, to be attacked and burned for the first time since the War of 1812. And Judge Roof, senior status judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. And people like Governor Josh Shapiro are putting a stop to it. I'm Michael Popak. You're on Midas Touch and Legal af. I'm fired up. I'm glad we have judges like Judge Roof and I'm glad the senior status judges are leading the way once again, citing too frequently George Orwell. Now, this all comes down to a plaque, a set of plaques. I'm going to show you a video of it being torn down in a, in a new memorial called President's House, which Philadelphia and Pennsylvania found through historical research, which is the place where Adams and Washington lived. And this was a memorial to the nine. I'm going to read their names in a minute. The nine enslaved people who worked. No, nine enslaved people who were enslaved to do jobs for George Washington. That's the right way to put it. And Donald Trump wants to change that. So three weeks ago, he sent a couple of guys in to rip the signs down. Now, this is A joint collaboration of the federal government, the Interior Department, the Park Service, and Philadelphia and Pennsylvania to operate this site. But they can't deface it, they can't rewrite it, they can't put their Trumpian graffiti on it. Here's a clip of these guys ripping.

[B]

Down signs developing right here and right now. Tonight on Independence Mall, a piece of Philadelphia history was removed this afternoon by the federal government. Cruz dismantled plaques telling the stories of the nine enslaved people who lived in the President's house and were owned by President George Washington. Last year, President Trump ordered National park staff to flag any displays that might be seen as disparaging to America's past. Philadelphia Mayor Cheryl Parker says the city is conducting a legal review of this tonight. An attorney who advocated for those plaques in 2010 called the removal, quote, outrageous and blatantly racist.

[D]

Here's how the judge, Judge Roof in granting a preliminary injunction against the Interior Department, forcing them to restore the site the way it was. Here's what she says to lead off on page one, her order today all history was a palimpset scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place. George Orwell, 1984. The judge kicks off her order this way, as if the Ministry of Truth and George Orwell's 1984 now existed with its motto Ignorance is strength. This court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not. The President's house is a component of the Independence Historical park that commemorates the site of the first official presidential residents and the people who live there. These are the first presidents, including people enslaved by President George Washington. On January 22nd of 2026, the National Park Service removed those panels, as you saw, and displays and video exhibits referencing slavery. The judge goes on page 31 of her order to talk about these enslaved people and how Donald Trump can't whitewash history away. Not on her watch. She says on page 31, quoting from a research book and an amicus brief, the people who President Washington held in slavery which the commemoration of him on those panels include oney judge who was held in slavery as a maid Austin Odie's brother Christopher Shields, held in slavery as Washington's butler body servant Giles as a carriage driver Hercules Posey held in slavery as a chef Joe Richardson held in slavery as a coachman Moll as a nanny, Paris as a stable worker, Richmond the son of Hercules, held in slavery as a chimney sweep. She then quotes George Orwell again about the attempted rewrite. And listen to what she calls Donald Trump. In this section, she says the largest section, quoting Big brother's domain in 1984. The largest section of the government's records department consists simply of persons whose duty it was to track down and collect all copies of books, newspapers and other documents, documents which had been superseded and were due for destruction. In other words, recalling and rewriting again and again without admitting any alteration or admitting any forgery about what had just been rewritten. The government here, the judge says, asserts truth is no longer self evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and the appointees and delegates. That's you, Trump, as to his whim to have it scraped clean, hidden or overwritten. And why? Solely because he has the power. Listen to this. This quote she takes from oral argument. This is what the Department of Justice lawyer under Donald Trump, an officer of the court, sworn to uphold the Constitution, who went to a law school program like mine. This is what this person had the temerity to say out loud in court. At least he admitted it or she admitted it. Although many people feel strongly about this one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way. We're both sidesing slavery. What's next? We're both sidesing the Holocaust. There were good people on both sides. The Nazis and the Jews and the gypsies and the Russians. Ultimately, it is in this context that the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey. Yeah, only in George Orwell's 1984. The message that the government chooses to convey is for the government to choose. I don't get to choose, the lawyer says, what the message is. And it's our position that the city, or by implication, the judge, doesn't. Either an agency, the judge continues, or any agency cannot arbitrarily decide what is true based on its own whims and the whims of new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it. Preliminary injunction granted. Arbitrary and capricious action. You cannot rewrite history. Conclusion, page 40. The defendants shall reinstall all panels, displays and video exhibits that were in place. They shall prevent any additions, removals, or destruction or further changes to the President's house except in a mutual written agreement between the defendants and the city of Philadelphia. An order will be entered. I had Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, join me for an interview about how to oppose a lawless president doing lawless and rogue things. And he had this to say to me in the interview.

[E]

Play the clip where you are eviscerating the trust between law enforcement and the community as we're seeing in Minneapolis where you're leaving families to be hungry, as you see because of the way in which he ripped snap away. And I think what we have to do is yes, we gotta win in the midterms, but before that we need people standing up every single day, not being afraid to speak up, standing up and fighting for what's right. Sometimes it's in a court of law, as I do, and sometimes it needs to be people who are peacefully protesting and standing up to this administration. I think it is all critically important and I just want to celebrate the people who do stand up for the rule of law every day and do stand up for what's right.

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[F]

Frankly, every American is against Donald Trump today except his die in the wool MAGA and of course, the Congress of the United States.

[D]

Right.

[F]

So, but that, you know, tsunami that didn't begin until a month ago was the saving grace for the lower federal courts. You know, whatever cliche, you want to stiffen their spines, but actually, you know, no, more appropriately, it gave them the courage, the needed courage from above them or outside them to do what they knew they had to do and wanted to do all along. And that's why you've seen floodgates, every single thing leading up to most recently. And this had begun four months in the last four months of last year where. Well, six months of last year, actually where it began. The Department of Justice and every other government official that appeared before the courts, including the Solicitor General of the United States, another law clerk of mine, I.

[D]

Was just going to say, don't leave out John Sauer or your other clerk.

[F]

Don't you worry. Don't you worry. And all of those officials begin addressing the federal courts of the United States in court with open contempt.

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

And actually lying to the federal judges to their faces. And that, you know, that began, that the federal judges began to push back on that the last six months of last year. Now, when, when it's clear to, you know, that they're going to do this for the next three years, those same federal judges, meaning all of the lower court federal judges, they're not going to have it.

[D]

So we will continue to follow what happens next as Donald Trump tries to rewrite history and write out and whitewash slavery. Here On Midas Touch Network and on Legal af. Take a minute. Hit the free subscribe button here. Come over to Legal AF YouTube. Do the exact same thing. Until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for it Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AOF are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

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[D]

Are you really buying a car online.

[F]

On Auto Trader right now?

[C]

Really?

[F]

At a playground?

[C]

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Really?

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And you just put in your info and boom. Car's in your budget.

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[D]

Kyle.

[C]

Again? Really? Auto Trader? Buy your car online? Really?