Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare move chastised Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after the Senate Minority Leader some say appeared to offer threatening remarks to two Justices.
“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,” the Chief Justice said in a statement released by the Court.
Speaking at an abortion rally Schumer directed his remarks to Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, waring them to not roll back a woman’s right to choose. The court today is hearing a case brought by the far right anti-choice movement.
“I want to tell you Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch, you have unleashed a whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” Schumer said, outside the court. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
But a spokesperson for Sen. Schumer called his comments “a reference to the political price Rs will pay for putting them on the court and a warning that the justices will unleash major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision.”
Conservatives have been in a frenzy ever since, claiming Schumer has threatened the justices and calling Schumer “unhinged.”
Update: MSNBC’s Chris Hayes offers some very important context to Schumer’s remarks: “The supposed threat he’s quoting is literally almost verbatim what Kavanaugh told the Senate Judiciary Committee!”