A senior federal judge in Massachusetts, appointed by former President Reagan, said he resigned Friday in protest against President Trump.
U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf wrote in The Atlantic that he stepped down because he “no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom.” Wolf said 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 reflected on his time as a judge and now wishes to do “everything in my power to combat today’s existential threat to democracy and the rule of law,” he wrote.
With his resignation, the 78-year-old Wolf noted Trump cannot replace him with a nominee of his own. Former President Obama already filled Wolf’s seat with Judge Indira Talwani in 2013, thus giving Wolf a successor. Reagan appointed Wolf in 1988.
Wolf also slammed the Department of Justice’s prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), as well as Trump’s social media post directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking her to prosecute Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
The former judge argued that even if a prosecution ends in an acquittal, it “can have devastating consequences for the defendant.” Furthermore, Wolf wrote that the Justice Department ensures prosecutors do not seek an indictment unless they have “sufficient admissible evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“Trump has utterly ignored this principle,” Wolf continued.
He went on to criticize Trump’s use of executive orders, calling them “unconstitutional or otherwise illegal”; challenged Trump’s calls for judges to be impeached; alleged “corruption by [Trump] and those in his orbit”; and said attacks on the courts that have led to real threats against judges.
“I resigned in order to speak out, support litigation, and work with other individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the rule of law and American democracy,” Wolf wrote. “I also intend to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.”
“I cannot be confident that I will make a difference,” Wolf concluded. “I am reminded, however, of what Senator Robert F. Kennedy said in 1966 about ending apartheid in South Africa: ‘Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.’ Enough of these ripples can become a tidal wave.”
Before he was appointed by Reagan, Wolf worked within the Justice Department, eventually becoming the deputy U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, as well as the chief of the department’s Public Corruption Unit in Boston from 1981-85, according to a federal court statement.
“Judge Wolf has served on this Court with distinction for over four decades,” Chief Judge Denise J. Casper said in the statement. “His steadfast commitment to the rule of law, determination in wrestling with novel issues of fact and law, and dedication to making fair, equitable and legally sound decisions without fear or favor are the hallmarks of his time on the bench.”
