from the turn-the-volume-up dept
Reagan-appointed federal judge Mark Wolf has resigned from the bench in Massachusetts, and his explanation is blunt: he can no longer bear the ethical constraints that prevent judges from speaking out publicly while Trump dismantles the rule of law.
This doesn’t happen. Federal judges—especially Reagan appointees—don’t quit to become activists. They stay in their robes and let careful rulings speak for themselves. Wolf’s resignation is the judicial equivalent of breaking the glass on a fire alarm.
Over recent months, judges across the political spectrum at district and appeals levels have been calling out Trump’s unconstitutional overreach. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority keeps reversing them—without proper briefing and with effectively no explanation. Even conservative colleagues at the lower levels have gotten increasingly loud about this lawless nonsense.
Wolf watched all of that and concluded the constraints of judicial office were now intolerable.
My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. 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. 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’s full explanation is worth reading in detail. He methodically establishes his credentials—50 years in the DOJ and on the bench—and documents his consistent refusal to let partisan politics influence his work. The examples matter because they show this isn’t some late-career partisan turn. Then he explains why silence became impossible:
As I watched in dismay and disgust from my position on the bench, I came to feel deeply uncomfortable operating under the necessary ethical rules that muzzle judges’ public statements and restrict their activities. Day after day, I observed in silence as President Trump, his aides, and his allies dismantled so much of what I dedicated my life to.
What follows is a systematic takedown of Trump’s corruption of prosecutorial discretion and his attack on the Constitution and the rule of law:
As much as I have treasured being a judge, I can now think of nothing more important than joining them, and doing everything in my power to combat today’s existential threat to democracy and the rule of law.
What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly. Prosecutorial decisions during this administration are a prime example. Because even a prosecution that ends in an acquittal can have devastating consequences for the defendant, as a matter of fairness Justice Department guidelines instruct prosecutors not to seek an indictment unless they believe there is sufficient admissible evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trump has utterly ignored this principle. In a social-media post, he instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek indictments against three political adversaries even though the officials in charge of the investigations at the time saw no proper basis for doing so. It has been reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James was prosecuted for mortgage fraud after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of Donald Trump’s former criminal-defense lawyers, questioned the legal viability of bringing charges against James. Former FBI Director James Comey was charged after the interim U.S. attorney who had been appointed by Trump refused to seek an indictment and was forced to resign. Senator Adam Schiff, the third target of Trump’s social-media post, has yet to be charged.
Trump is also dismantling the offices that could and should investigate possible corruption by him and those in his orbit. Soon after he was inaugurated, Trump fired, possibly unlawfully, 18 inspectors general who were responsible for detecting and deterring fraud and misconduct in major federal agencies. The FBI’s public-corruption squad also has been eliminated. The Department of Justice’s public-integrity section has been eviscerated, reduced from 30 lawyers to only five, and its authority to investigate election fraud has been revoked.
Wolf doesn’t stop there. The piece catalogs Trump’s broader assault: the unlawful executive orders, the attacks on judges who’ve ruled against him, and the constellation of enablers making it all possible. This isn’t judicial restraint—it’s a prosecutor laying out a case.
If you’re worried that Trump will get to appoint his replacement, he notes that’s actually not true in this case:
When I became a senior judge in 2013, my successor was appointed, so my resignation will not create a vacancy to be filled by the president.
More importantly, Wolf’s making clear this resignation isn’t symbolic retreat—it’s tactical:
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. I also intend to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.
Read the full piece, which has way more than I discussed here. Wolf’s not mincing words or hiding behind careful judicial language anymore.
Not surprisingly, the White House mocked Judge Wolf as trying to pursue a “personal agenda,” while encouraging any other judges who feel similarly to resign as well.
The actual reality is what Wolf documented across dozens of paragraphs: Trump is systematically destroying constitutional constraints on executive power, dismantling the offices that could investigate corruption, and prosecuting political enemies while protecting allies. Calling that a “personal agenda” is exactly the kind of authoritarian gaslighting Wolf quit to fight.
Wolf has the courage Trump’s entire administration lacks. And this is a moment where we need more public displays of courage like this. So kudos to Judge Wolf for speaking out so clearly.
Filed Under: constitution, corruption, donald trump, fascism, judges, mark wolf, rule of law, shadow docket
