I am reminded today of what Senator Robert F. Kennedy said in 1966 about ending apartheid in South Africa: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”
Another tiny ripple of hope unfortunately came in the recent resignation of federal Judge Mark Wolf. In his resignation letter he wrote: “I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. President 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.” Judge Wolf was appointed by President Reagan in 1985 to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
Since January well over 100 career, professional federal government workers have resigned in protest to Trump Administration practices they see as illegal. Unfortunate for all of us.
Pat Malone
Columbia Falls