Ginsburg Says She Regrets Trump Comments

After telling several news outlets this week that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is a “faker,” among other things, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she regrets the comments. “On reflection, my recent remarks in response to press inquiries were ill-advised and I regret making them,” she said. “Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office. In the future I will be more circumspect.” Earlier this week, Ginsburg told CNN legal analyst and Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic: “[Trump] has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. … How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.” Trump shot back, calling the remarks “highly inappropriate.” He tweeted: “Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot – resign!”

Legal scholars agreed with Trump, saying Ginsburg’s comments crossed a line. “What Justice Ginsburg did in these interviews is facially unethical in my view,” Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, told the Los Angeles Times. “It undermines the core values and integrity of the court.” A legal ethics expert at Chapman University, Ronald Rotunda, called her comments “jaw-dropping.”