🚨Chief Justice sends WARNING to Trump in ANNUAL REPORT

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: John Roberts
2. 6:00 – 9:00: Harry Litman, John Roberts
3. 12:00 – 15:00: Harry Litman

Notable quotes from "🚨Chief Justice sends WARNING to Trump in ANNUAL REPORT"

• The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, just sent a hidden message to Donald Trump and the Trump regime, a coded message, if you will, in his annual report. The Chief Justice at the end of every year.

  about John Roberts · at 0:00

• True then, true now. Signed, Chief Justice John Roberts. I want to bring in Harry Litman of the Talking Feds YouTube channel, the Talking Feds Substack.

  about Harry Litman · at 6:30

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Thomas Paine — Person · 3 mentions
• John Roberts — Person · 2 mentions · first at 0:02
• Harry Litman — Person · 2 mentions · first at 6:36
• Calvin Coolidge — Person · 2 mentions

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, just sent a hidden message to Donald Trump and the Trump regime, a coded message, if you will, in his annual report. The Chief Justice at the end of every year prepares an annual report. And this year, the Chief Justice was focusing on the enduring nature of the interplay between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. and through the dark times, through the good times, throughout all of America's history, since he says the 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. He says the Declaration of Independence and Constitution have set a framework for this country and it will hold. But, you know, I think if you ask me, it's a pretty weak and sheepish way. He doesn't mention Donald Trump's name once uh in this report. He doesn't mention the fact that the judiciary has been under assault. You know, notably in 2024,

1:03 Chief Justice Roberts annual report was filled with the biggest warnings, the biggest issues that the judiciary is going to face is what happens if there's an executive branch that doesn't follow our orders and what happens if we lose legitimacy in the eyes of the people and what happens. It was all of that, right? And you know, it's interesting because I think the district court judges and most of the circuit court judges have done the right thing in the Trump regime and actually standing up against the fears that Chief Justice Roberts talked about in his 2024 annual report. While the Supreme Court led by its right-wing supermajority has been the cowardly ones who by and large on about 90% of the bad decisions that they've been making or so they most of their Trump related decisions have been bad have resorted to kind of procedural copouts that have allowed Donald Trump to declare the status quo is whatever

2:03 Donald Trump says the status quo is versus the laws that he violated to implement the status quo. And the Supreme Court has used its shadow docket to do that. So if if if you read this report, it almost reads like Asop's fables or like a parable of the cave. And it's like, dude, just explain what the hell is going on right now in this country so the American people could have some level of confidence that you get it and rather than rather than do this. Here it is. 2025 year end report on the federal judiciary. And here's how it starts. 250 years ago this week, a recent immigrant to Britain's North American colonies put the finishing touches on a manuscript in which he hoped to express the plain truths about his newly adopted home. It goes on to talk about how this individual is Thomas Payne. Benjamin Franklin took a liking to Thomas Payne and he helped Thomas Payne launch his own newspapers which

3:02 Payne was the writer and editor for. Then Payne goes on to write common sense and it's inspirational for the declaration of independence and thereafter the constitution and it goes on to talk about how um as Benjamin Franklin reportedly reportedly warned we must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately. By the way, I'm sure a lot of district court judges are like yeah you're forcing us to hang separately you idiot. We're holding the line, Justice Roberts, and you're the one who keeps undermining the district court. So, it's I'm glad you're sending these symbolic messages out, but you're the one who's having us hang separately. A quarter of a millennium later, Roberts writes, "The Declaration of Independence stands as the one one of the most widely read and em and emulated political documents in history. Beyond the preamble, the declaration lists 27 grievances against

4:03 the king and British rule and sets out a statement of political values based on enlightenment principles. Well, h how about those principles were no kings and you were the one who granted Donald Trump absolute immunity, which Donald Trump is continuing to abuse right now, just as the three liberal justices during the absolute immunity oral argument warned. Exactly. He would. But you were like, "Oh, but we got to worry about what if we chill the authority of the of the executive, they'll be too scared to do their job." Yeah. Most presidents other than Donald Trump were not as scared to faithfully execute the laws that they were entrusted with ex.

4:46 It's kind of rarely and uniquely Donald Trump is the one who's so scared about faithfully executing the laws and violating them because he continues to violate them. The uh report by Roberts goes on to talk about how if you open the US code today, you'll find the text of the Declaration of Independence on the first page. And this may come as a surprise to some readers, but as Justice Scalia observed, the declaration consists of aspirations and philosophizing that do not lend themselves to prescriptions of enforcement. I I don't know. I mean, they seem to be pretty prescriptive in many senses. Then it goes on to say, "The connection between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution cannot be clearer when it comes to the judicial branch. The declaration charged that George III has made judges dependent on his will alone. And then it says now the constitution goes on to enshrine this judicial independence.

5:49 Then it goes on to talk about at the end as we approach the semiquincentennial of our nation's birth. Dude, just say 250 years. In the words of Calvin Culage spoken a century ago on the occasion of America's cesquincentennial, amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken.

6:30 True then, true now. Signed, Chief Justice John Roberts. I want to bring in Harry Litman of the Talking Feds YouTube channel, the Talking Feds Substack. Harry, he's one of the guys who's shaking it. He's one of the guys eroding the foundation of those documents, this absolute immunity ruling. So, it seems like this is more he's sending this message to Trump as though Trump's even going to read this thing. number one. But number two, this seems to be more like therapy for himself. Like I'm good, right? Like like I'm good, right? And then it doesn't even address like anything that's happening in modern. It has these historical parables, you know, but like just explain what the hell is happening. This is why people I think view the Supreme Court is so out of touch. But what do you make of it, Harry?

7:20 Look, your cynicism is more than warranted. the long list. You you talked about the 27 uh articles of uh of accusation against King George. They're much longer than that against the supermajority. It's all true. On the other hand, these reports and these documents are typically dry as dust and end of year about oh the bit, you know, business of the courts, why more money is needed, why it's not nice to threaten. That was the the big um sort of statement before uh federal judges' lives. All true. This is an unusual document. We got to start there.

8:05 Now, it is the 250th anniversary of the declaration, not the constitution. That's why we have that word that uh I'm not sure I could pronounce, so I'll shy away from it. But, uh, so there's a reason, but the whole literary quality and and it all leads to Thomas Payne really the embodiment of the rights of the people as against the government. He could have been making this peeon to the great you know structures and the need for separation of powers and executive principles. This is really again and again about the people and this is the court that after 49 you know bad decisions and you're so right about the um total abomination of the immunity opinion came through in a pretty major way just a couple weeks ago. and Trump versus Illinois. I'm not suggesting some big conversion, but the music here is really enlightenmentdriven people and people's rights as opposed to something about government and

9:17 government structure. And one more thing, it's not normal to see Calvin Culage quoted in in current modern day. He's a pretty obscure president. But what's how's he uh quoted as the words you say to me they are I you cannot read them without knowledge of the last not just year but even dating back to 2020 and the obvious insurrection. So um amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, now yes, you and I would say welder of partisan politics. You mean one part trying to uphold the rule of law and another the in the partisan politics trashing it, lying, etc. But that's I I don't see what that means except some reference to what's going on. So, I'll just say the tone of it, the emphasis on the, you know, the Thomas Payne vein of American democracy and the few references to me. Now you may not credit it but I I think that you know this can be read as saying we know

10:33 the difference when the whole constitution and uh and actual declaration of independence are on the chopping block and we will stand up maybe a promise they won't keep etc but I found the tone of it surprising especially again he generally and chief justices is generally in these endofear reports are so you know dry as dust and this was like allergic right so you know maybe I maybe I'm a little bit um stareyed at the beginning of the new year I'm going to also uh lose 10 pounds and read 300 books this year but I can see this uh report as meaning to at least be balanced and uh communicate an understanding that when the chips really are down, as Trump clearly would make them if he can, the court knows the difference between flushing the Constitution down the toilet and standing up against him. Maybe too cute by half for me, Harry. Just say

11:45 Fair enough. Just say just say, "F you, authoritarian. We know what you're up to. cut the cut the crap and we're not going to be doing this shadow docket anymore. That's how I mean, but the reality is is that,

11:58 you know, these are these are these are urgent times. And I think why someone like Governor Nuomo breaks through with the way his social media is is he's just out there saying, "F this guy. F this, you know, we're not supporting tyrants. This guy's a dictator. here are the issues, you know, and in a in his own way and in a different way why someone like a Bernie or a Mum Donnie or an AOC are resonating with you because they're saying here's what's happening. Let me explain it to you. You know, and I think the frustration people have, it's putting it lightly, you know, on the one hand is people who who are treating this like like like these poetic flowerly normal norm. Like, dude, we've got a guy who just ripped down the freaking east wing of the White House to build the golden ballroom, who rolled out a red carpet for Vladimir Putin and made

12:55 Where do you see the arch? The great arch. An arch in two months. He's making our military bend on their knees for Putin. He's bragging about cognitive exams and you're doing some ode to freaking Thomas Payne common sense and the semiquintessential potentennial plennial. It's like dude just speak freaking normal to me and tell me what the hell is going that's just their freaking reality. Like look Harry you and I like I could speak like that. Like you want you want me to go and I could write like that. I can speak like that.

13:26 But you don't have to. and he has to because that's not what we're freaking dealing with. And maybe in my advanced poetry legal philosophical class that I'll teach one day in the future when times are normal. I'll do that. But right now, we got to deal with what we're dealing with. Harry, I'll give you the final word.

13:43 Verily, verily, Ben, what can I say except to, you know, to just note what this genre often is and to say again, Calvin Coolage. So anyway, you know, maybe hope springs uh eternal and it everything you say there's no of course the president is irredeemable. Uh I'll just I'll just say Trump versus Illinois could have gone the other way. So not not completely redeemed, but is there some effort to to say when push really comes to shove, we've screwed you all the way along, but but the Constitution's not a suicide pact.

14:24 Maybe I'll go with maybe while you go with NFW. And you know, let's uh let's bookmark this conversation and uh and bring it back in a year.

14:34 Yeah. Disclaimer for our audience. Harry Litman clerked for two Supreme Court justices. Thanks everybody. Hit subs. Make sure you subscribe to Harry Litman's Talking Feds YouTube channel, Talking Feds Substack, and Talking Feds podcast. Harry really did clerk for two Supreme Court justices. Go. Harry's credentials are for they don't get credentials like that. That's why I get my legal news from Harry. You should all go there as well. Go look up the Talking Feds podcast, Talking Feds Substack, and Talking Feds on YouTube.

15:03 Thanks, Harry. Thank you. Happy New Year. Midas mighty. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our Substack at Plus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Philipski, ad free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "🚨Chief Justice sends WARNING to Trump in ANNUAL REPORT"?

In order: 0:00 John Roberts; 6:00 Harry Litman, John Roberts; 12:00 Harry Litman.

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

4 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Thomas Paine, John Roberts, Harry Litman, Calvin Coolidge. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "🚨Chief Justice sends WARNING to Trump in ANNUAL REPORT"?

The episode runs 15 min; the transcript is about 2,369 words in 20 timestamped sections.

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