Chief Justice of The Supreme Court John Roberts Enters The Senate Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump

John Roberts swore the president into office and now is thrust into new role in The Trump Circus of Politics.
The chief justice is known as an “institutionalist” whose primary concern is that the Supreme Court appear nonpartisan and neutral. . . It was at his confirmation hearing that Roberts made his famous comments about calling balls and strikes.

“Judges are like umpires,” Roberts said at the time. “Umpires don’t make the rules. They apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. . ."

[Read more > WaPo 05 Nov 2019 ] _________________________________________________________________________

Trump vs. John Roberts:

A 2020 battle for the Supreme Court’s reputation

POLITICO |                         "Between the impeachment trial and a series of cases about presidential power, Roberts will struggle to keep the high court out of the political muck

President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts are on a 2020 collision course guaranteed to strain the court’s hard-fought attempts to remain above the political fray.

The relationship between Trump and Roberts has long been fraught, with the two trading pointed remarks over the president’s verbal attacks on the judiciary. But it’s only going to get more complicated when the Senate impeachment trial eventually opens. Roberts will be overseeing the political proceedings under the watchful eye of a certain Twitter handle known for its invective . . "

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Robert Barnes

Reporter covering the U.S. Supreme Court

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Seung Min Kim writing in the Washington Post on November 5, 2019, "Trump’s impeachment proceedings would be the first trial over which Roberts has ever presided. It provides the potential for a confrontation with a president who has already antagonized him, even as the chief justice has tried to distance himself and the court from partisan politics."

"Break out the umpire trope one more time: If Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is called upon to preside over a Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, it will be the most high-profile and likely unwelcome test of his skills as neutral arbiter."

History provides only two examples of a chief justice presiding over impeachment: Salmon P. Chase oversaw the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868, and William H. Rehnquist was in charge of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment proceedings in 1999. Neither president was convicted, which requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

It is an ill-defined role, dictated by rules and precedents developed by the Senate. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) . . McConnell played up the power that Roberts has — noting that he would rule on any motions made by the opposing sides.

> It was at his confirmation hearing that Roberts made his famous comments about calling balls and strikes.

“Judges are like umpires,” Roberts said at the time. “Umpires don’t make the rules. They apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire.”

“I

Is John Roberts Up To a Senate Impeachment Trial?

The chief justice has a history of succumbing to pressure from the political class.

David Catron

The American Spectator

"The Democrats have manifestly failed to build the national consensus necessary to remove a sitting president from office. The “impeachment inquiry” decreed by Nancy Pelosi in late September, combined with Adam Schiff’s inequitable conduct of the subsequent public hearings, have produced the reverse of their intended result. Several reliable voter surveys show that they weakened support for impeachment among Independent voters, particularly those in crucial swing states, while hardening support for the president among Republicans. Yet the Democratic leadership is clearly determined to pass articles of impeachment against Trump, without regard to the legal merits or the misgivings of “moderate” members of their own caucus.
When the Democrats pass their impeachment resolution, the sordid spectacle will move to the Senate, where Chief Justice John Roberts must preside over a trial that will determine if the president has actually committed an offense that would justify his removal. This should worry the president and his supporters. Historically, the role of the chief justice in these proceedings has been somewhat symbolic. Yet it will be necessary for him to rule on a number of important motions. The weak Democratic case against President Trump, combined with the Democrats’ penchant for manipulating procedural rules, all but guarantees that they will inundate Roberts with a tsunami of parliamentary maneuvers that he may be ill-equipped to manage . . ."