Reagan-Appointed Judge Steps Down to Slam Trump’s ‘Assault on Rule of Law’

A federal judge has resigned so that he can freely speak out on the judicial abuses of Donald Trump.

Judge Mark L. Wolf, a Reagan appointee who sat on the bench for 40 years, penned an op-ed in The Atlantic on Sunday explaining his decision.

“My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom,” he wrote.

(041510 Boston, MA) "A Celebration of a Life" for Anthony "Courtroom Tony" Torosian at the federal courthouse. Honorable Mark L. Wolf, Chief Judge, United States District Court, talks about how Mr. Torosian's will be missed. Thursday, April 15, 2010. Staff photo by John Wilcox. (Photo by John Wilcox/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images) — Mark Wolf served as a judge in a Massachusetts bench for 40 years. MediaNews Group/Boston Herald vi/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Wolf, 78, served the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 1985. In his op-ed, he enumerated the abuses committed by Donald Trump that he felt he could no longer silently observe.

“President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment,” he said.

“This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.”

Wolf outlined his issues with Trump, including the indictments of his political enemies on weak cases; shielding his friends and administration members from prosecution; eliminating the Justice Department’s cryptocurrency enforcement unit as he launched his own cryptocurrency; signing unconstitutional executive orders related to his deportations; and disobeying orders from federal judges.

Wolf worked for Deputy Attorney General Laurence Silberman in 1974 and Attorney General Edward H. Levi from 1975-1977 following the resignation of Richard Nixon for the Watergate scandal.

He compared the difference between Richard Nixon’s corruption with Trump’s presidency, saying, “What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.”

Wolf said now that he is no longer judge, he will use his new privileges to “speak out, support litigation, and work with other individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the rule of law and American democracy.” He also said he intends “to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.”

SPRINGFIELD - JUNE 16: From left to right: Federal Judge Mark Wolf is introduced by newly sworn in U.S. Attorney Wayne Budd, to his wife Jacqueline and mother Octavia Budd, far right. Ceremonies were held at U.S. Court. (Photo by John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) — Wolf (left) served as an assistant to the Attorney General following the Watergate scandal. Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images

During Wolf’s 40 years on the bench, he ruled on landmark cases, including 2008’s Parker v. Hurley, where he said religious parents do not have the right to exempt their children from education on homosexuality, and 2018’s Calderon v. Nielsen, where he ruled that ICE was illegally detaining undocumented immigrants pending resolution of their immigration case.

When Wolf was made a senior judge in 2013, his successor was appointed, meaning his vacancy will not be filled by a Trump appointee.

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