CNN’s Wolf Blitzer tried repeatedly to goad former liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer into attacking both his former colleagues and President Donald Trump on Wednesday’s edition of The Situation Room.
After some discussion on Chief Justice John Roberts rebuking Trump’s Truth Social post that called for Judge James Boasberg’s impeachment for his ruling that ordered deportation flights be turned around, Blitzer worried, “The public, as you know, has lost a lot of confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years. Does this Court have enough credibility right now with the American people to push back against the president when necessary?”
What does that mean? The duo was just discussing Roberts’s statement decrying Trump’s post. Plus, it’s not as if the Court can do anything to appease progressive activists short of ruling like liberals. Nor did Blitzer have this conversation when it was Democrats musing about impeaching judges for rulings they don’t like.
As for Breyer, he gave a long, rambling non-answer:
You don't want a judge to be looking over his shoulder to public opinion… Professor Freud from my law school, he said no judge, no judge decides a case by looking to the temperature of the day. But every judge, every judge is aware of the climate of the era… You find a couple of cases where the fact that this is the Supreme Court of the United States, and we're part of the governing institution where you have to be aware of what's going on in the country, and that might include a political basis… You're a judge. You decide what you think is correct in the law. Period. But are you aware of what's going on in the country? Yes, you are.
During a second segment with Breyer, Blitzer asked, “Are we nearing a constitutional crisis right now?”
Breyer responded by dancing around the question, “No one really knows. No one really knows. People have different views on that. And the best thing I think for the judges is you follow the law, you simply follow the law. And that is what they try to do.”
Unsatisfied, Blitzer tried again, “But what if the president of the United States doesn't want to follow the law, the Constitution, the way it's written and has other ideas?”
Again, Breyer avoided the question, “I hate to tell you how I've been trained. I've been trained not to consider difficult hypotheticals. And you consider a case when it's in front of you. And as long as people are appealing, as long as people use the legal process as it is intended to be used in this document, it says right here 'judges shall hold their offices during good behavior,' as long as they follow the traditions of 200 or more years, we won't have that hypothetical.”
For all the talk about deportation flights, constitutional crises, social media posts, and impeachment, that is where the situation stands. Despite all the media histrionics, the Trump Administration has appealed Boasberg’s ruling, as is standard operation procedure.
Here is a transcript for the March 19 show:
CNN The Situation Room
3/19/2025
10:20 AM ET
WOLF BLITZER: The public, as you know, has lost a lot of confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years. Does this Court have enough credibility right now with the American people to push back against the president when necessary?
STEPHEN BREYER: You don't want a judge to be looking over his shoulder to public opinion. Suppose that the case involved a criminal case involving a very unpopular person. The judge must be fair, but, but now who put this correctly, the “but,” Professor Freud from my law school, he said no judge, no judge decides a case by looking to the temperature of the day. But every judge, every judge is aware of the climate of the era. Now, what does that mean? Perfect. You don't know exactly. You know, politics is out. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You find a couple of cases where the fact that this is the Supreme Court of the United States, and we're part of the governing institution where you have to be aware of what's going on in the country, and that might include a political basis.
You see, it's like this. Do you ever read P.G. Wodehouse?
BLITZER: Go ahead.
BREYER: All right. His character gets up. He says, “Bertie got up in the morning. He wasn't disgruntled, but he wasn't exactly gruntled either.” You're a judge. You decide what you think is correct in the law. Period. But are you aware of what's going on in the country? Yes, you are.
…
BLITZER: Are we nearing a constitutional crisis right now?
BREYER: No one really knows. No one really knows. People have different views on that. And the best thing I think for the judges is you follow the law, you simply follow the law. And that is what they try to do.
BLITZER: But what if the president of the United States doesn't want to follow the law, the Constitution, the way it's written and has other ideas?
BREYER: I hate to tell you how I've been trained. I've been trained not to consider difficult hypotheticals. And you consider a case when it's in front of you. And as long as people are appealing, as long as people use the legal process as it is intended to be used in this document, it says right here ‘judges shall hold their offices during good behavior,’ as long as they follow the traditions of 200 or more years, we won't have that hypothetical.
