White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested the Trump administration would consider arresting high-ranking judges—including Supreme Court justices—at a press briefing Monday.
“As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court justice?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked.
Leavitt said no judge is safe from the administration’s crackdown on the judiciary.
“Anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials is putting themselves at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely,” she said.
But, calling the question a “hypothetical,” Leavitt said it was ultimately up to the Department of Justice to make calls on which judges to go after.
“I’d refer you to the DOJ for individuals they are looking at,” she added.
The exchange comes days after the FBI arrested a Wisconsin circuit court judge, Hannah Dugan, for allegedly obstructing its agents from arresting an undocumented migrant in her courtroom.
Leavitt fielded questions about the arrest at the briefing Monday.
“Let’s be clear what this judge did,” Leavitt said. “She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials. That is a clear-cut case of obstruction.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week the administration was open to pursuing judges whom it believed were stymying its policy goals.
“We will prosecute you,” she told Fox News. “We will find you.”
Leavitt’s comments also come two days after President Donald Trump attacked judges who he said are holding up his efforts to combat illegal immigration after a series of judicial rulings blocked his pushes to end federal funding for sanctuary cities and to require proof of citizenship to vote.
“We need Courageous JUSTICE in our Country,” the president wrote. “If the Courts don’t allow what we have been allowed to do for 250 years, America can no longer be the same.”
Judges across the country are fighting back, however, particularly on immigration, where the president’s agenda has faced the most judicial pushback.
Judge James Boasberg threatened earlier this month to hold Trump officials in contempt after the White House disregarded his March order to return Venezuelan migrants on flights bound for El Salvador back to the United States. The administration claimed his order did not apply to flights flying over international waters.
Following Boasberg’s March orders, Trump called for his impeachment: “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.
