Richard Sanders, a justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, has admitted to heckling U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasy at a Federalist Society dinner last week. Mukasy collapsed, in what doctors identified as a fainting spell, while making his comments. During Mukasy's talk, Sanders stood and yelled "Tyrant! You are a tyrant!"
Sanders had previously denied inquiries seeking to confirm that he was the heckler.
Michelle Malkin made repeated requests to Sanders. Here's the letter Sanders sent Malkin upon finally admitting that he indeed called Mukasy a "tyrant":
I want to set the record straight about a dinner I attended on November 20, in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Federalist Society — a conservative and libertarian legal group of which I am a member. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was the keynote speaker.Actually, I don't think it "goes without saying" that Sanders should want Mukasy to remain in good health.
In his speech, Attorney General Mukasey justified the Bush administration’s policies in the War on Terror, which included denying meaningful hearings for prisoners in Guantanamo, and other questionable tactics, all in the name of national security. Mr. Mukasey said those who criticize the Administration for abandoning provisions of the Geneva Conventions fail to recognize that “… Al Qaeda [is] an international terrorist group, and not, the last time I checked, a signatory to the Conventions.” Although the United States is a signatory, and these Conventions prohibit torture, the audience laughed. Attorney General Mukasey received a standing ovation. I passionately disagree with these views: the government must never set aside the Constitution; domestic and international law forbids torture; and access to the writ of habeas corpus should not be denied.
The program provided no opportunity for questions or response, and I felt compelled to speak out. I stood up, and said, “tyrant,” and then left the meeting. No one else said anything. I believe we must speak our conscience in moments that demand it, even if we are but one voice.
I hope those who know my jurisprudence will agree that to truly love the Constitution is to uphold it, to speak out for it, not just in times of peace and prosperity, but also in times of chaos and crisis.
I did not “heckle” Attorney General Mukasey, and I did not disrupt the meeting, as those who watch the video of his speech on the Federalist Society’s website will discover. I left before Mr. Mukasey had his frightening collapse. I learned of his collapse later, from news reports. It should go without saying that, despite our vastly different views on what constitutes upholding the rule of law, I hope he continues to recover and remain in good health.
Historically, "tyrants" were those whose heads the mob wanted on pikes.
Sanders, in my opinion, as an official member of the Washington state judiciary, whose courts represent one of the routes to federal ajudication in our constitutional system of federal law, has at the least committed judicial misconduct, and his actions more likely reflect the literal repudiation of the legal authority of United States government - in other words, treason.
Of course, leftists are defending Sanders for his wonderfully "impassioned dissent."
6 comments:
This left wing loon should be disbarred for being...well being a left wing loon.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DD...55 days until the Marshall Law begins ;)
Opposition to conservatives is principled dissent while voicing opposition to Obama is now unpatriotic and un-American. The double standard of the left just keeps showing up.
Dr. D,
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Now on to the fun.
So much for judicial restraint and dispassionate decision making based on the rule of law. This guy should hit the road. It is apparent that any case of this nature is already decided in his court. Can you imagine what would have happened had Scalia, Thomas, Alito, or Roberts been this unhinged and undisciplined?
55 days until the Marshall Law begins ;)
Would that be under Marshall Dillon?
You propose the wrong model of government. In America, the officials serve at the pleasure of the people. Regardless of your wishes, that is the historical genesis of the US Government: "We the people ..." A cat may look at a king, and a peasant may speak to the President. Moreover, by taking a position in the government, Judge Sanders did not lose his rights as a citizen. Of all people who should know the law and the human rights Mukasey is abusing, Sanders is among the most qualified to call Mukasey to account. Mukasey stands for prison without trial, given certain accusations. Now Donald Douglas argues for power without dissent. In this direction lies the very terrors and horrors America pretends it is battling.
Why should prisoners at Gitmo be entitled to "meaningful hearings"? Would they give our solders a "meaningful" hearing if they were caught and imprisoned? Sounds like those stupid illuminati left-wing loonies who don't realize that Al Qaeda is nothing more than a terrorist group. They deserve the same treatment they'd give our soldiers--immediate death with no hearing!
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