During an interview with Meet the Press Now host Kristen Welker, Ty Cobb, who served as an attorney for the first Trump administration, called out Trump 2.0 for having "no respect for the rule of law."
Cobb's remarks came as the Trump administration gears up for a legal battle over the Alien Enemies Act after President Donald Trump invoked it on Saturday, clearing the way for him to deport over 250 undocumented immigrants purportedly from Venezuela with little to no due process.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order on Saturday to block the deportations, but DOJ attorneys informed him that two planes had already departed—one bound for El Salvador and the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally instructed that the planes be turned around, but the directive was not followed.
Trump was later criticized for referring to Boasberg as a "troublemaker and agitator," statements the White House stands behind, as indicated by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said the following during yesterday's press briefing:
"It's incumbent on the Supreme Court to rein in these activist judges. These partisan activists are undermining the judicial branch."
Cobb had some harsh words for the Trump administration when asked after the fact whether he believes the White House "is acting in its legal authority," saying:
"The White House and the Justice Department are trying desperately to hide the facts that demonstrate that they compellingly defied the court order and ignored it."
"As [former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Tom Hohmann said, 'We don't care what the judges say.' As [Vice President J.D. Vance] said, 'We don't care about the courts because they don't have an army.'"
"This is a totally lawless administration with no respect for the courts or the rule of law."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Many concurred.
Though the White House has called on the Supreme Court to intervene so it can enforce its agenda, it's evident that not even the branch's justices are shielded from the caprices of this administration and its surrogates.
After Trump called for Boasberg's impeachment, Chief Justice John Roberts surprised Washington with a rare statement affirming "it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision."
These words angered Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld, who dismissed Roberts' expertise and told him to "shut the F up" in defense of "a leader who does not have the luxury of opening up his little books to read."
@jimmyfallon/Instagram