Article II: Abuse of Presidential Power to Intimidate Federal Judges in Violation of the Separation of Powers and Independence of the Judiciary

In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Donald John Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has unfaithfully, dangerously, and unconstitutionally abused his official position by threatening Federal judges. President Trump has fostered a political climate in which lawmakers and judges face threats of political violence and physical assault; and in this climate has made threats and vituperative comments against Federal judges, putting at risk their safety and well-being, and undermining the independence of our judiciary. Case in point, in response to a Federal district court ruling with which President Trump disagreed, he posted: “This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President … This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED” Another U.S. District Chief Judge has reported receiving increased numbers of violent threats, particularly after he began hearing arguments in a lawsuit against the Trump administration. In 2025, roughly a third of the Federal judiciary has been flooded with threats, with data showing that these threats spike each time Trump uses abusive rhetoric against judges. On May 2, 2025, Reuters reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson addressed President Donald Trump’s attacks on the judiciary. The relevant part of the article stated as follows: (1) “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said on Thursday attacks by Republican President Donald Trump and his allies on judges were ‘not random’ and seemed ‘designed to intimidate the judiciary.” (2) Specifically, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Jackson remarked that, “The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.” (3) Justice Jackson added, “The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.. The judiciary is afforded power over “all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made” and “to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party.” U.S. Const. art. III, sec. 2. Intimidating judges, and recklessly calling for the impeachment and removal of judges who disagree with him demonstrate a willingness by Trump to usurp authority afforded by our Constitution to the judiciary and demonstrate a disregard for the Constitution and the careful balance of powers that protects our country from abuses by any single branch. President Trump’s threats place the lives of Federal judges, court officials, and innocent bystanders at risk, promote the incitement of violence, and undermine our democracy, which cannot survive where President Trump’s incendiary comments engender invidious hate and where dissent is punishable by death. In all of this, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore Donald John Trump, by such conduct, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office.