Trump STUNNED as Federal Judge UN-RETIRES before Day 1

Summary

Episode Summary: Trump STUNNED as Federal Judge UN-RETIRES before Day 1

Legal AF by MeidasTouch – December 21, 2024

In this impactful episode of Legal AF, hosted by Michael Popok of the MeidasTouch Network, the discussion centers around a surprising and strategic development within the federal judiciary: judges choosing to unretire amid intense political maneuvering. This decision has notably left former President Donald Trump and his allies reeling, as it disrupts their efforts to reshape the judiciary in alignment with MAGA principles.

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1. The Rise of Unretiring Judges

At the outset of the main discussion ([00:50]), Popok introduces the concept of "unretiring," where federal judges, particularly those appointed by Democratic administrations, decide not to step down as planned. This move is seen as a direct countermeasure against the attempts by Republicans to fill these vacancies with MAGA-aligned judges.

Key Quote:

“James Wynn is like, I'm not going anywhere. You're not confirming Ryan Park, Democrat to Democrat to replace my seat. I'm unretiring.” — Michael Popok ([03:15])

2. Case Study: Judge James Wynn

Popok delves into the specific case of Judge James Wynn from the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia. At 70 years old, Wynn's decision to remain on the bench serves as a direct challenge to Republican Senator Thom Tillis and other MAGA supporters who have been blocking the confirmation of his preferred successor.

Key Points:

• Background: James Wynn's tenure and qualifications.
• Political Blockade: How Republicans, through strategic horse-trading, have impeded the confirmation of appellate court judges in exchange for trial court appointments.
• Consequences: The blockade led to Wynn's decision to unretire, thereby maintaining his seat and preventing MAGA appointments.

3. Political Implications and MAGA's Response

The act of unretiring judges like Wynn is perceived as a strategic move by Democrats to preserve judicial integrity and prevent a flood of right-wing judges. Popok criticizes Republican efforts, particularly those orchestrated by Mike Davis, alleging unethical tactics aimed at forcing these judges out of retirement.

Key Quote:

“They have the right to unretire. You just didn't anticipate that they would.” — Michael Popok ([04:50])

4. Broader Movement: Other Judges Follow Suit

Popok highlights that Wynn is not alone in this stance. Judges Max Cogburn and Algernon Markey from North Carolina and Ohio respectively have also chosen to unretire. Their decisions signify a broader movement among Democratic-appointed judges to resist partisan pressures and maintain judicial balance.

Key Quote:

“I applaud James Win for unretiring. I applaud Max Cogburn and Algernon Markey for doing the exact same thing.” — Michael Popok ([09:00])

5. The Judges Act and Its Political Fallout

The discussion shifts to the Judges Act, a bipartisan initiative aimed at expanding the federal judiciary with 65 new judges appointed by three presidents, starting with Biden. Despite initial support, partisan gridlock, particularly from the House controlled by MAGA Republicans, hindered its progress. Popok critiques both parties for politicizing the judicial nomination process, emphasizing how Democrats have been blocked from implementing the Act post-election.

Key Quote:

“We have to be as aggressive as the Republicans are willing to go.” — Michael Popok ([10:20])

6. The Future of Judicial Nominations and Democratic Strategy

Popok emphasizes the need for sustained and unified efforts from the pro-democracy community to counteract Republican strategies aimed at entrenching MAGA-aligned judges. He calls for aggressive opposition both in the courts and the broader political battlefield to ensure a balanced judiciary moving forward.

Key Quote:

“We need to oppose Donald Trump on the battlefield. We need to do it in the courts. We need to do it this way.” — Michael Popok ([11:00])

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Conclusion: Upholding Judicial Integrity

Throughout the episode, Michael Popok provides a comprehensive analysis of the strategic decisions by Democratic-appointed judges to unretire, framing it as a pivotal stand against partisan attempts to reshape the judiciary. By choosing to remain on the bench, these judges are safeguarding judicial independence and ensuring that the federal courts remain a bastion of balanced and fair adjudication.

Popok's passionate commentary underscores the importance of maintaining a judiciary that reflects diverse and democratic values, resisting attempts to dilute its integrity with ideologically driven appointments. This episode of Legal AF serves as a crucial examination of the ongoing struggle to preserve the impartiality and fairness of the American legal system amidst intense political pressures.

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Stay informed and engaged by subscribing to the MeidasTouch Network's Legal AF for more in-depth analyses at the intersection of law and politics.

Transcript

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And fees, extra fee full [e-mail] unretiring among federal judges is all the rage, especially among Democratically appointed ones, to try to gum up the works and pay back Repub who try to block successfully Joe Biden's efforts to replace Democratically appointed judges with other Democrats. And I'm here for it on the Midas Touch Network on Legal AF the topic unretiring. Let's talk about James Wynn and how MAGA is going cuckoo crazy because he's decided at the age of 70 to let Joe Biden know. Second thoughts? I'm not going anywhere. I'm unretiring. I don't want senior status. Don't fill my seat. Why? Because when he retire or announced his retirement, opening a seat, the Republicans blocked successfully and did a horse trade with Chuck Schumer, the outgoing Democratic Senate Majority leader of the 118th, in which they said, well, we'll trade you about 20 federal trial court level judges, but we're not going to confirm for appellate court judges. And they're very valuable. I mean they're, I mean if they're not one to one with trial judges, I would say appellate court judges, because of their role in our system and in our court precedent system, are very important. But Chuck Schumer, you know, I don't know enough to undermine him. But they felt like they had to cut a deal to, you know, get rid of four to save 20. Now one of the four was in Virginia, in Richmond, in the 4th Circuit. James Wynne was one of the four. But as soon as James Wynne, a Barack Obama appointee saw that they were blocking a perfectly reasonable pick to replace him, the North Carolina Solicitor General. You know, not, not like somebody woefully unqualified like Donald Trump's cabinet picks. But Ryan park really qualified. North Carolina likes him a lot. They made him the Solicitor General, which is their person that argues before the North Carolina Supreme Court like perfect to slide into a federal position. But no. Thom Tillis, a Republican MAGA senator, decided to block it. And that led to that opening that the Democrats felt like they had a bend over and sacrificed. So James Wynn is like, I'm not going anywhere. You're not confirming Ryan Park, Democrat to Democrat to replace my seat. I'm unretiring. And that's driving MAGA mad. There's an organization run by Mike Davis, who's this disgusting, unethical guy, lawyer for Donald Trump in and around his world that has this Article 3 project, this phony sounding public interest group that he runs with MAGA money and Federalist Society money. And now they're filing judicial complaints for, for ethics because these people are unretiring. I got news for you, Mike Davis. I got news for you, Mike Davis. They have the right to unretire. Okay? You just didn't anticipate that they would. Now two other trial court level judges, that's the initial level, have also decided. Max Cogburn and Algernon Markey have also decided to un, retire one in North Carolina and the other one in Ohio. And they're allowed to do that too, meaning they're not going anywhere. So the Democrats are. The ones that were appointed by Democrats feel it is their civic duty, their judicial duty not to just hand over to Donald Trump any more vacancies to allow him to slide MAGA candidates in. We've seen what he does with the, with the picks. There are always these MAGA right wing Federalist Society, anti woman, anti immigrant, anti reproductive rights, anti voting rights person. We see it, we see it in the fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. You know, we see it with, with the lawyers there. We see it with Andrew Oldham and Judge James Ho, who are all fighting to become the next Supreme Court nominees and how rightist of right wing and federalists they are. And judges in the Eastern District of Texas and judges like James Winn. I give him a lot of credit. You know, he could go play golf at 70. You know, he's a lawyer for 30 years. Before that a federal judge for 20 years. He doesn't need this. But he sees it as his civic and patriotic duty to stay. You know, Supreme Court Justices do it all the time, by the way. They just don't. They don't usually announce their retirement.

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[Legal Analyst]

They'll wait to see. They wait to see the results. And if that was the big criticism of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which was that she should have left when Obama was in, but she wasn't ready to leave when Obama was in. Just like Sotomayor isn't ready to leave now just because Trump got elected, you know, even though she's in her 70s and the Republicans aren't going anywhere. I mean, maybe Alito and Thomas retire, they're in their 70s, but maybe they don't. They like it. They've got the numbers now, they get to shove all of their, their immoral policies, you know, down our throat and for women up their body parts. So they're. I'm not sure they're ready to go. This is their celebration period. Right. This is their coronation period. I'm not seeing them go off to be, you know, to go do speeches. Maybe, maybe they will. They make enough money, apparently, being Supreme Court justices, having money put in their pockets, you know, by right wing maga. So I'm not sure they need to go for the money. They're already 70 years old anyway. So I applaud James Win for unretiring. I applaud Max Cogburn and Algernon Markey for doing the exact same thing and more should consider it. If you're out there, you are a democratically appointed federal judge at any level and you could hold on another four years to see what happens. I would, I would applaud you to do that. I would commend you to do that. And we'll cover it all here on Legal AF of the Midas Dutch Network. This is the way that, this is the way I feel like I'm the Mandalorian. This is the way that we need to be an aggressive party in opposition. We need to oppose Donald Trump on the battlefield. We need to do it in the courts. We need to do it this way. I know they're all upset. Oh, they're politicizing the judicial nomination process. We're politicizing the judicial nomination process. This is the same group of MAGA who there was a bipartisan bill for. It's called the Judges Act. It's an acronym to, to allow three judge, three presidents, starting with Biden, to appoint 65 more new judges. New judges would have been created because there are places in the country where the federal docket is overwhelmed and new judges would help. But it was supposed to be, you know, this, this President Biden and then the next two. No, they stuck it to Biden. The Senate passed it on bipartisan grounds. But then the House run by MAGA was like, yeah, let's see what happens with the election. So who's politicizing it? And then when Trump won, they said, now we'll pass it. We'll do it now. After it sat around since August. And Biden's like, no, I'm going to veto it now because you didn't give me the first 20, the first 20 picks. You should have given me that in August. And you didn't because you were waiting to see what was going to happen with the campaign. So I don't want to hear from Thom Tellis or Mike Davis or any of these other losers about. Oh, they're politicizing. Oh, boo Hoover. Boo hoo. We're all, we're all in the major leagues. You know, if you can't hit the fastball, then, then, then drop out. And this is what we gotta do. Sharp elbows, you know, we gotta be, you know, we gotta box out under the basket to mix metaphors. We have to, you know, we gotta go to the lengths and the depths that the Republicans are willing to go to and deeper and longer for them. Oh, and especially over the next two years as we box in Donald Trump, make him as lame duck as quickly as possible and take the midterms starts here. Stay together as a community. Stay together as an audience. Stay together as Midas mighty and legal a efforts. You can only do it here. Free subscribe to the Midas Touch Network. I got a new channel that I'm curating in collaboration with the Midas Touch Network. You might have heard about it. It's called Legal AF and it's another pro democracy independent, completely independent, new outside investors channel. It's just you come over and free subscribe. And we're running six to eight new videos over there at the intersection of law and politics. Some great new contributors and some that you've come to. Some new shows like unprecedented about the United States Supreme Court. On a weekly basis I do with Dina Dahl. And then I'm doing a new show called Popak Live every Tuesday at 8pm right here on the Midas Touch YouTube channel. So until my next reporting for all things legal af, I'm Michael Popak.

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