Wyoming attorneys urge delegation to condemn attacks on federal judiciary

CASPER, Wyo. — Over a hundred members of the Wyoming State Bar joined in a letter condemning rhetoric from the Trump administration and allies attacking the federal judiciary and urged Wyoming’s three-person delegation to U.S. Congress, to follow suit .

“Aside from the calls to violence, the amount of invective and misinformation
being shared on X and other sites about judges and calls for their impeachment is
unprecedented in our history,” the bar members wrote in a letter addressed to Rep. Harriet Hageman, Sen. John Barrasso and Sen. Cynthia Lummis.

“These attacks are part of a growing effort to discredit, not just judges, but seemingly the American Rule of Law as we know it,” the letters.

The letter, which noted that Hageman and Lummis are both attorneys, was shared with media outlets on Wednesday afternoon and is included below.

Over a hundred federal lawsuits have been filed amid a blizzard of sweeping and executive actions by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk. The suits challenge the firings of federal workers, freezing of federal funds and summary deportations of alleged gang members without hearings afforded by due process.

Social media posts by Trump and Musk have railed against judges who have ruled against the administration and, they claim, the will of the American people as evidenced by the election.

In the deportations case, Trump called Judge James E. Boasberg “a troublemaker and agitator” and called for his impeachment, as did Musk.

The rhetoric drew a rare statement of rebuke from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) this week spoke about Congress’s authority to defund federal district courts, according to AP News. Congressman Andy Ogles (R-Tn) recently filed articles of impeachment U.S. District Judge John Bates, calling him a “RADICAL LGBTQ ACTIVIST” and a child predator.

“Not surprisingly, these evidence-free attacks have fomented threats of violence,” the attorneys’ letter said.

The Wyoming bar members signing on to the letter are calling the rhetoric dangerous and contrary to America’s founding principles. 

“We understand there is an appetite among sizeable members of the electorate for radical change at any cost, but the growing reckless disdain for the independence and security of our judiciary must be resisted by anyone sworn to uphold our Constitution. That includes us, and it certainly includes you,” the letter to the delegation said. “Silence in the face of such threats from those with a duty to uphold the Constitution will be properly seen as complicity.”

“We welcome your earliest public response to these very serious concerns,” the letter added.

Barrasso’s social media feed recently featured a reel of his comments from the Senate floor in support of Trump’s actions in the deportation case, and generally congratulated Trump for “swift action” on his agenda.