Chief Justice Roberts issues rare rebuke to Schumer’s ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’ threats, Trump slams lawmaker, says ‘must pay a severe price’

Related: WATCH: US Senator Chuck Schumer Threatens Two Chief Justices

“You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you.”

Daybreak Insider: Senator Chuck Schumer said these shocking words: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price.  You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions” (National Review).  From Hugh Hewitt: It is far more grave than a mistake. It is a threat against individuals who live with them daily. It is an attack on the judiciary. It is an incitement to violence. It is a debacle and a terrible day for the country (Twitter). From the Wall Street Journal: … the comments from Mr. Schumer reflect a significant escalation in Democratic efforts to bully the High Court. Last year five Democratic Senators led by Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) submitted a brief in which they effectively threatened to pack the Court if it didn’t rule their way in a Second Amendment case (WSJ).  From Chief Justice John Roberts: “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter” (National Review).  Team Schumer called all of this a “right wing” misinterpretation (Twitter).  From Alexandra DeSanctis This is pure gaslighting. I was there. I heard the whole context (Twitter). Ed Morrissey explains how this reveals “Chuck Schumer is a hopeless windbag demagogue rather than a serious person worthy of public trust” (Hot Air). From Ben Shapiro: Chuck Schumer’s comments on the Supreme Court today demonstrate that while the media and Democrats insist that Trump murdered American political norms, he was actually just the coroner who declared them dead (Twitter). There’s talk of a censure (Daily Caller).  From Senator Susan Collins: I agree with Chief Justice Roberts. These statements by Senator Schumer are outrageous (Twitter).

UNHINGED → Schumer threatened conservative justices Kavanaugh & Gorsuch on the steps of the Supreme Court:

“You have released the whirlwind & you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you.”

Enough. This rhetoric has dangerous consequences. Where’s the media outrage? pic.twitter.com/SiGNHxG0iX

— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 4, 2020

Chief Justice Roberts issues rare rebuke to Schumer, calling comments on Kavanaugh and Gorsuch ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’

By Gregg Re, FOX News, March 5, 2020:

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts on Wednesday issued a highly unusual and forceful rebuke to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., calling his threatening remarks directed at Associate Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh “irresponsible” and “dangerous” — prompting Schumer’s office to slam Roberts and accuse him of bias.

The extraordinary back-and-forth began hours earlier at a pro-choice rally hosted by the Center for Reproductive Rights, when Schumer ominously singled out President Trump’s two Supreme Court picks: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price!” Schumer warned. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

Roberts replied in his remarkable written statement, obtained by Fox News: “This morning, Senator Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside. Senator Schumer referred to two Members of the Court by name and said he wanted to tell them that ‘You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.’”

Roberts continued: “Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter.”

Schumer spokesman Justin Goodman quickly responded by accusing Roberts of bias, further escalating the confrontation. Goodman insisted that Schumer was addressing Republican lawmakers when he said a “price” would be paid — even though Schumer had explicitly named Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

READ ROBERTS’ STATEMENT

“Women’s health care rights are at stake and Americans from every corner of the country are in anguish about what the court might do to them,” Goodman said in a statement to Fox News. “Sen. Schumer’s comments were a reference to the political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court, and a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision.”

He added: “For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing’s deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices [Sonia] Sotomayor and [Ruth Bader] Ginsberg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes.”

That was an apparent reference to Trump’s call for those liberal justices to recuse themselves from some cases due to alleged bias. (“I just don’t know how they cannot recuse themselves to anything having to do with Trump or Trump-related,” Trump said. Ginsburg, who has publicly defended Kavanaugh and Gorsuch as “very decent” and “very smart,” previously called Trump a “faker,” and Sotomayor sharply criticized the administration in a recent dissent.)

WATCH: Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer threatens U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

“You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price! You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions!”pic.twitter.com/e1qKzocJDj

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 4, 2020

This is a direct & dangerous threat to the U.S. Supreme Court by Schumer. If a Republican did this, he or she would be arrested, or impeached. Serious action MUST be taken NOW! https://t.co/WqQUbyzaJU

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2020

Video of Schumer’s remarks had quickly circulated on social media, with Republicans and prominent liberals casting the comments as a clear threat against two sitting Supreme Court justices. Schumer, they said, had gone far beyond merely requesting that justices recuse themselves as he stood in front of the Supreme Court Building.

Late Wednesday, Trump used Schumer’s own words to condemn him.

“There can be few things worse in a civilized, law abiding nation, than a United States Senator openly, and for all to see and hear, threatening the Supreme Court or its Justices,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This is what Chuck Schumer just did. He must pay a severe price for this!”

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

There can be few things worse in a civilized, law abiding nation, than a United States Senator openly, and for all to see and hear, threatening the Supreme Court or its Justices. This is what Chuck Schumer just did. He must pay a severe price for this!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2020

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he would introduce a resolution to censure Schumer.

“I would call on Schumer to apologize, but we all know he has no shame,” Hawley wrote. “So tomorrow I will introduce a motion to censure Schumer for his pathetic attempt at intimidation of #SupremeCourt.”

Even left-wing Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe tweeted: “These remarks by @SenSchumer were inexcusable. Chief Justice Roberts was right to call him on his comments. I hope the Senator, whom I’ve long admired and consider a friend, apologizes and takes back his implicit threat. It’s beneath him and his office.”

These remarks by @SenSchumer were inexcusable. Chief Justice Roberts was right to call him on his comments. I hope the Senator, whom I’ve long admired and consider a friend, apologizes and takes back his implicit threat. It’s beneath him and his office. https://t.co/xbNnUeznRR

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) March 4, 2020

The American Bar Association is deeply troubled by today’s statements from the Senate Minority Leader threatening two sitting justices of the U.S. Supreme Court over their upcoming votes in a pending case,” the ABA said in a statement. “Whatever one thinks about the merits of an issue before a court, there is no place for threats — whether real or allegorical. Personal attacks on judges by any elected officials, including the President, are simply inappropriate. Such comments challenge the reputation of the third, co-equal branch of our government; the independence of the judiciary; and the personal safety of judicial officers. They are never acceptable.”

During Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation battle in late 2018, a mob of left-wing protesters banged on the doors of the Supreme Court Building, many of them complaining about his possible future abortion rulings.

Schumer did not specifically explain what “price” the justices would face. During the rally, however, Schumer did go on to describe how Republican lawmakers could be impacted politically.

“We will tell President Trump and Senate Republicans who have stacked the court with right-wing ideologues that you’re gonna be gone in November, and you will never be able to do what you’re trying to do now ever, ever again!” he said. Earlier in his address, Schumer had accused Republican legislatures of “waging a war on women” and said reproductive rights are “under attack in a way we haven’t seen in modern history.”