Republicans scathed by testifying witness for twisting judge's record in Trump feud

A witness who was called to testify before the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday scathed the senators who were present for trying to "distort the record" about judges who have ruled against President Donald Trump.

Trump has repeatedly threatened judges during his second administration and called for those who rule against him to be impeached. Some of those threats have inspired Trump-supporters to also threaten judges, according to reports.

On Wednesday, Republicans in the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing about holding "rogue" judges accountable. One judge they focused on is Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia. Boasberg has ruled against Trump's immigration raids on numerous occasions and has considered holding DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in contempt of court.

Republicans used their time to advance narratives about why Boasberg and other "rogue" judges should be impeached. They chided Boasberg for allegedly assigning himself to Trump's immigration cases and abusing his judicial authority.

Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor of federal courts at Georgetown Law, told the Republican-controlled committee that there are "rich conversations" to be had about the way cases are assigned, burdens of evidence, and other challenges.

But the accusations Republicans levied about Boasberg were "untrue."

"Those are the conversations that we should be having today, and not trying to distort the record and lay blame on a judge who, by all accounts, was by the book," Vladeck said.